Won't Submit
by aMereContradiction
Summary: Yo, Ashe here, fry-cook extraordinaire! Walking home after shift close I was attacked by a demon and saved by my best friend, a rabbit statue. Now there's this crazy red head chick trying to arrest me with a rose, spouting nonsense about Spirit World Wardens and dimensional prisons. Forget all this nonsense, can't I just go back to deep frying?
1. To be a Frycook

Chapter 1

Long sanguine tendrils of hair clung to my scalp as frigid sleet beat down upon me. My arch nemesis trudged towards me, his plate mail clanking out a monotonous rhythm. His greater battle axe slowly dragged behind him like the leg of a wounded wolf, but I know better than to believe his lazy gait means anything more than him wanting to toy with me as a cat may do to a dying spider. That's _all_ I was to him now. A worthless insect, and I would be a fool if I let myself think he held no qualms in squashing me.

As he plodded through the slush underfoot, beams of silver moonlight cascaded upon him like a luminous waterfall. His dragon winged pauldrons greedily drank in the moonlight and spat it back out unto the night like a welcoming lighthouse in the midst of a great storm. Said moonlight played well with his deep olive skin tone and flowing ebony locks. He looked towards me and I caught a glimpse of his stormy eyes set in a chiseled angular face. He was truly handsome and for a second I could remember why I had fallen in love with the selfish tyrant.

I pushed up off the ground from where I lay in the cold mud onto my hands and knees. Wind blew fiercely around me sending my fiery locks to twist around and whip at my smooth ivory skin. I felt the artic bite the winds had to offer from where my dress had been shredded in my recent battle. Goose flesh began to raise along my body in waves. As Cain approached me I felt the ground rumble as if it were protesting to his large stature. "Cain," I spat in between clenched teeth raising my head so that our eyes locked, "so nice of you to have followed me here".

"It's not like I could have let you escape me so easily this time, Zoran," he replied in a husky rumble.

"Hah! And I suppose your honor would not allow a third escape," I mocked trying to buy myself some time to in fact be able to make that third escape.

He glared down at me with steely grey eyes, then grabbed me by my hair pulling me up to eye level. "We could have been so much, you and I. We still can, bow down to me and apologize for all your slights against me and my kingdom and I may just let you come back to the palace." I thought for a moment of what he used to be and all the tender memories we shared, and wanted beyond all belief to just go back to that simple time.

However I had been young and stupid, not seeing what a cruel and treacherous ruler he was. I had not cared for the slaves that were beaten and raped within the palace compounds, because I had not seen it occur first hand. I had not cared how he let the weak fight amongst themselves to death for but the end of a stale loaf of bread while he and his men ate a feast every night. All and much worse had occurred during my stay at the palace but I had simply chosen to live in blissful ignorance of it. I had decided to live in my own little fairytale, me the Queen and he my King; and to this day I have known no greater shame.

"I will not." I hissed.  
>"What was that, love? I believe I misheard you, let's hear it again." he threatened narrowing his eyes slightly.<br>"Open your fool ears and listen this time because it is the last I repeat myself for the likes of you. I said I will not now or ever bend knee to you! I won't do as you say any longer, you have no power over me anymore! I. Will. Not. Submit!" As soon as the last words left my mouth he threw me to the ground and belted out a war cry.

"You will regret those words wench!" he screamed in fury and hefted his double bladed axe high into the air above his head.

I stared up at him my ruby eyes growing wide in fright, then quickly reached for the daggers in my thigh sheath. I took hold of my daggers and rolled to the side as he brought the axe down to where I had been not a second before. I threw a dagger, leaped sideways, but suddenly pain seared up my left arm.

_FUCKKKKKKKKKKK! _I thought biting down hard on my lower lip, whilst only murmuring a polite, "Oh my…" I ran to the sink, turned on the cold water as quickly as possible while trying not to wipe at the hot grease that felt my arm and hand had been a good place to jump onto. I shoved my hand and forearm under the cool water and let out a sigh in relief and mentally glared at the grease.

_Asshole, just had to go and shatter my day dream there didn'cha? Tch' it was getting good too. I was just about to kill that stupid king once and for all but noooooooooooooooo, you just had to go and bite me for no good reason! Well now you get to get washed down the sink all alone without any of your grease buddies for company! I will have my revenge! _I felt my lip twitch towards becoming a small malicious smirk and quickly schooled my features. _ Phew hopefully no one saw tha-_

**Beep Beep Beep Beep**

_Akkkkk! Dammit!_ I raged in my mind as I turned to see the fryer I had been cleaning out. It had overflowed the grease truck and now grease was pooling on the floor, quickly making its way towards me. "Now we shall have our revenge!" I could almost hear the pool of grease buddies shouting at me as they charged.

My eyes grew wide in fear. "Nooooooooo", I whimpered behind my fingertips. _My manager's gonna rip me to flippin shreds! _I swiftly jumped around the pooling grease reaching the red handled lever that would stop the flow of grease in just enough time to…I peered into the fryer to see that it was completely empty save for some weird crusty bits that had fallen off of some form of fried food. _Well just shit, I guess I have 'ta clean the fuckin floor now, great_! I mentally stomped my foot and pout glared at the hateful grease pool.

Sighing I went to stand but slipped in a spot of grease I has not seen. Instead I saw the fryer coming quickly to greet my face like a dear friend running at me to administer a hug. _Why yes I am glad to see you too old friend but, not today junior! Hahahaha!_ I thought as I grabbed the fryer door catching myself just in time. _Oh! I totally just caught myself like a freakin' ninja! Heheheh I'm so cool_. I got up more carefully this time and let myself enjoy a small polite smile.

I walked to the back of the kitchen (remembering to "inconspicuously" look around for the kitchen manager, which was nowhere to be found. _Score..!)_ and grabbed a squeegee, scrub brush, mop bucket filled with commercial grease destroying chemicals, and some wash rags. All set to finish breaking down and cleaning the fry station, I headed back to get to work and get the hell outta here.

As fate would have it, just as I was walking into the fry station a polite, feminine voice stopped me, "Ms. Chance, it seems that Mr. Kobayashi got an emergency call from his wife and has left early. I really hate to do this to you but would you mind performing the back of the house management duties tonight? I know you do them frequently and I would ask someone else but you are the only person wh-".

_Why in the seven circles of hell would I want to do that asshole's job, like really if he can't manage the kitchen maybe you should just fire his ass already, I swear I do this like every night! _Instead of letting Keiko know how I felt about the kitchen manager, I pasted on a courteous smile and said, "No, of course I do not mind Ms. Yukimura. I would be happy to help out any time". Because honestly, to say anything else would be just plain rude.

"Oh, thank you so much! You are always so understanding, sometimes I feel like you are the only person I can count on!" She replied beaming and headed out the swing door to close the front of house.

_Dammit I hate being caught in this situation, grrrr._ After grumbling a little longer in my head I let out a small sigh and forced another polite smile onto my face. "Alright men you heard Ms. Yukimura. I will be closing tonight, and I hope to be out of here within the hour. Let's work hard together and have a smooth close," I chirped to the other two back of the house employees. Though I could not see the dish washer nor the grill cook I knew they had heard me with their replies of "Yes ma'am". I nodded to myself and took a step forward, completely forgetting about the evil mastermind that was the grease pool and its villainous sidekick the grease truck. With combined forces they took me down easily and I fell hard.** Crash, clang, ding, splat,** "oooph…." Miraculously I had somehow managed to flip midair like a magical anti-kitty, (a rare beast to be sure) and instead of landing on my face I landed on the back of my skull right into the middle of the grease pool.

_DAMMIT! OMFG! IT'S HOT! I'M BURNING! _Quicker than I have ever moved before in my life I got up and started to rip off my shirt, but stopped once I had it up to my navel. _Wait….hmmmm it's not actually that hot. I must have been zoned out longer than I thought_. I then lowered my shirt because well I guess one could venture to say that running around half naked would not be quite socially acceptable._ But stilllllll…..That Fucking hurt, what the hell are you even doing in my way you stupid mother fu- hmmmm, I guess I did leave it there. Well you know what, I don't give a rat's ass about that! Yeah, so Fuck you grease pool! You may have won this battle but I assure you, I will win this war!_ And just to ensure the grease truck knew who was boss too, I mentally kicked it. _Hmph!_

After dealing with my mini dilemma I finished preparing the kitchen for tomorrow. The other two employees had a much smoother night than I, so I released them once I checked their stations over. I filled out the ordering form, finished off the nightly checklist, washed my hands, removed my apron and clocked out.

I pushed passed the swing door and entered the dining area. Keiko looked up from behind the counter and smiled. As I smiled back she looked as if she were about to ask me to sit down and speak with her, but my appearance must have made her stop. Not that I blame her, I am covered head to toe (not even figuratively this time) in fryer oil. I noticed how she was trying not to scrunch her nose either. _Great I stink, I guess you get the last laugh Mr. Grease Pool. Congratulations_. I mentally golf clapped for the grease pool and his ally. Maintaining my smile I said, "Well, everything has been taken care of. Here are the closing sheets. Please let me know if I have missed anything Ms. Yukimura". _Not fucking likely. I totally close way better than that asshat of a kitchen manager._

"Oh please do just call me Keiko, we have known each other for so long. I hope you consider me a friend by now," she said so sincerely that I actually believe her. _Well I have known her for as long as appropriate to call her by her first name. Hmmmm, I deem it socially acceptable. _

"If you would like Keiko-san, and you may call me Ashton if it pleases you," I said smiling at her a tad more genuinely.

"Great! Ashton-chan it is! And I am not worried about those silly close in sheets, you never miss anything. Anyways, I really wanted to thank you for helping me out so much so I made some carrot cake earlier and would like it if you would take some." She said beaming again.

"Oh, thank you so much," _I really don't want any sweets. How do I decline without upsetting her….wait, I know just what to do with that! _I bowed and graciously took the carrot cake from her offering hands. She continued to smile at me and bid me farewell.

After I closed the restaurant doors and waved to Keiko one last time, I started my grand trek home. _Now don't get me wrong, I like Keiko, in fact she is everything I strive to be and everything my mother always wanted in a daughter. She is loving, kind, caring, gracious, giving, polite, a good student, talented, and compassionate. To top it all off she is all of those things naturally. It kinda pisses me off, I mean seriously how can one person be so flippin' good? It's like she was created just to torment me! I have to try so damn hard to even pretend to be someone like her and I still fuck up all the time! My mother would always gripe at me and tell me to be better, like all of society will congregate into a flaming mob and prosecute me for not remembering all of my social P's and Q's. There are so many rules for every damn situation! Like smile when someone says this, laugh when they do that, commence some sympathetic emotion when this happens. And it doesn't even end there! Why should it even matter? I went through hell thousands of times to make sure that these rules would never leave me; to the point where I could have called child protective services on my stupid bitch of a mother. However since it was socially unacceptable to do so, I never could manage to make the call. Anywhosit Keiko just seems to naturally come by these god forsaken abilities and it drives me insane with jealousy. However she does have that one thing... _I took a moment to maliciously laugh from the protection of my mind.

_Kieko has horrible taste in men, her boyfriend is sooooooo beyond the point of socially acceptable that it's not even funny. Seriously a two year old raised in a chicken coop would be more polite than him, or so I have heard. And this is where I beat Keiko, though I don't quite have a boyfriend at the moment, he would be the most gentlemanly gentleman ever. And in knowing I have defeated the queen of benevolence, I suppose she would be a good friend to gain. I could even introduce her to the ice witch (my mother). Whom has been complaining about me not coming over to "catch-up" enough. Ah! This is what I was looking for._

I kneeled down at the small rabbit shrine, placing the carrot cake at its base. The stone rabbit seemed sad to me. It may be lonely because no one walks this way through the park. It must not have any followers anymore. I wonder if anyone even remembers his name or what he was built for. "Are you a god, little one? A forest guardian perchance? A spirit? Who are you, and why do I always feel as if you are trapped?" I found myself whispering. I patted his head even though, really you are not supposed to. It's considered "rude." Okay, maybe a little beyond rude but still, as sad as it sounds, that poor rabbit was the only thing I felt I could be myself around. He has been my only safe haven for many a year.

I continued on my way home, walking through the park making my way to "the slums". _Okay I know it's not really safe for me to be walking this late at night in this part of town and it's not necessarily "safe" for me to live in the area either, but hey I'm a college student working as a fry-cook which means I'm dead broke. Also, let's get real, who wants to attack someone who smells like fryer oil all the time. Tch' if I was going to attack someone I would make sure it wasn't someone who I would have to take a bath after attacking. Nope, I would make sure to target someone who was at the very least clean looking._

I made my way up steep concrete stairs to Apt. 204, took out my keys and unlocked the door. It's an "efficiency" apartment which means it has just the one room and a bathroom. The kitchen and the living/dining/bed room are slightly separated by a half assed wall. It wasn't really a full wall because it just stops half way across the room, so I call it Mr. Lazy and find that this helps me with the whole "are you a wall or are you not a wall" issue. I take my shoes off at the door and go around Mr. Lazy to the kitchen. I then open the fridge door and grab a bottle of Sapporo, downing it in one go before throwing the bottle across the kitchen into the trash without looking. **Clinck, clank, clinck** _score_ and I know the bottle has made it safely into the bin with all of its bottle friends. I then trudge to the bathroom, turn on the hot water, and remove my clothes, haphazardly tossing them into my laundry bin.

I remove the black hair tie from my shoulder length hair and place it beside me on the countertop to the sink. Looking up into the mirror hesitantly, scared to see the true damage that damned grease pool had done to me. I take a breath. _Hmmmmm, it's not really that bad, I mean it could be worse, right?_ My hair was drenched in oil. The soft black strands clinging together to make what appeared to be oily, inky octopus tentacle dreadlocks. _Great, just add heat and maybe I will have fried calamari witch squid ink sauce, though that may be a rather appetizing dish and costly at that, I do not want my hair to look like the greasy tentacles of a week old squid!_ My normally tanned skin was aglow with oil and I had deep dark purple rings under my almond shaped eyes. My irises normally a steely blue had reverted to a mucky depressing grey. The burn on my arm and hand however had turned a happy pink color and seemed to be pleased with the amount of damage the grease pool had caused. It shouldn't scar however and even if it did, my arms were already marred with so many from working in the fry station (burns, knife cuts, fryer cuts, microwave cuts, sink cuts…it's surprising what I can hurt myself with in the kitchen.) that it wouldn't go amiss. _Okay no more lying to yourself kido it's pretty fucking bad, you look like something the cat dragged in….okay maybe even something the rat dragged in but then said rat was dragged away by the cat because Mrs. Cat was worried for the rat's health... Oh well! It's fixable! Nothing a nice long hot bad won't cure!_

The breath I had been holding rushed out of my lungs and I then continued to breathe normally, I jumped into the shower and scrubbed down. After my shower I dried off and put on an old baggy t-shirt that read "Aperture Science. We do what we must because we can." Then while yawning extensively I pulled out my futon out of its couch position to its bed position and passed the fuck out.


	2. My Complex

**Chapter 2**

"You will regret those words wench!" he screamed in fury, hefting his double bladed axe high into the air above his head.

I stared up at him, my ruby eyes growing wide in fright. I quickly reached for the daggers in my thigh sheath. I took hold of my daggers and rolled to the side as he brought the axe down to where I had been not a second before. I threw a dagger leaping sideways, tucking my body into a roll and landing behind him. My first dagger struck true. Blood openly flowed from in between his plate mail where my dagger had sunk in between its plates. He turned, sprinting rapidly towards me. I leapt back yet again flinging two more daggers. He opened his mouth snarling, "**Ding Ding Ding**".

_Wait what? Why would he say something like that?!_

He slowed, took two more steps toward me and began to speak. "**Ding Ding DING!**"

I backed away from him slowly, starting to worry for my enemy's mental health. Suddenly I was falling.

_AkkkkKKK! _I flailed about wildly, trying to grab onto something when my ass was abruptly halted by its re-acquaintance with the floor. **Ding Ding Ding** my alarm happily tweeted at me. _God dammit all! Not fucking agaiiiiiiin, he was totally dead that time!_ I huffed, trying to throw my hunter green comforter off my head and back onto my futon where it belonged. However, my legs were tangled in my blanket so I rolled around on the ground for a good amount of time; probably looking like some poor dog belonging to a small child who thought it was funny to put blankets over their pet's heads.

**Ding Ding Ding** my alarm reminded me. _Oh for crying out loud enough with that damned ringing!_ I rolled once more, dislodging my legs from the quicksand trap that my comforter had become. I stood up to my full height of 5'4.23, raised my blanket above my head and threw it down upon the futon like a gauntlet. I then glared in anticipation at my alarm clock waiting for it to make its move.

**Ding Ding Di**- _Now's my chance!_- **iiiiinnn**nnnnggg! My alarm clock screeched as I punted it. The clock ricocheted off Mr. Lazy, then once again off of a real wall and bounced back towards me. _Ohhhhhh Shite! _My eyes widened as I threw myself backwards in the direction of the floor trying to avoid the flying clock. The clock whizzed above me and brutally crashed into my- _Oh dear god Nooooooo! NOT MY BABY! _– laptop.

I let a dry sob escape my throat and I crawled on hands and knees to the incredibly gory murder scene. Shattered glass and keyboard keys were scattered everywhere. One of the bells from the alarm clock silently rolled along my desk like tumble weed. Ever so slowly I brought my hands to my face and allowed my sleep-styled hair to come forward; hiding my face from view. Although I am not proud to say this; I sobbed into the palms of my hands like a baby.

After I had relieved myself from that devastating flow of emotions, I cleaned up a bit. I discarded the laptop and alarm clock carcasses, put my futon back up to couch position, folded my blanket (placing my pillow on top of it), and went into the kitchen.

Upon reaching my destination I peeked into my fridge to see what mysteries it may behold. Thankfully I found only one science experiment. _Hmmmmm, I don't even remember ordering Chinese food. _I raised a slim brow quizzically at the odd hairy grayish green object while holding my breath. _How did you even hide in here for so long? Maybe you're an alien! Oh well, in with the bottle buddies you go_. I then tossed it over my shoulder into the garbage. I moved around a few Sapporo bottles, trying to figure out what I could make for breakfast. Or rather grab on the fly. I cook for a living. No way in hell am I gonna come home and cook for me too, that's just ridiculous.

After pushing aside a half empty gallon of expired milk _or should I say a full gallon, it's not the gallon's fault that half of it is only filled with air_, and some none too happy looking avocados _or had those been plums at some point? I can't really tell anymore, I gotta stop buying produce while telling myself imma start eating healthy at some point…._ I found what I was looking for. Strawberry go-gurt!

"Hells Yeah!" I said, taking a moment to do a small victory pose with go-gurt raised in a clenched fist high above my head. I snickered to myself as I brought my arm down, put the plastic tube to my lips, ripped the top off the go-gurt with my teeth, and slurped down its contents in one gulp. _Slimy yet satisfying!_ I grinned like a meerkat and threw the wrapper away. I then reached into the fridge to grab a bottle of water and walked towards my bathroom, shutting the door to the fridge with my foot.

Once in the bathroom I placed my bottle of water onto the sink so that I could relieve my overworked morning bladder. After dealing with that necessity, I prepared myself to run through my morning bathroom routine consisting of: washing my hands and face, applying a facial moisturizer, brushing my teeth, brushing my hair, putting on deodorant, slapping on some eyeliner and mascara, turning the shower on full blast to its highest temperature, nodding once firmly to myself in the mirror, grabbing my water bottle and heading out the bathroom door.

Humming a nameless tune to myself that held no specific order of notes or beats, I waltzed into the main room dancing my way to my pre-owned beanbag chair aka Mr. Lumpy. Mr. Lumpy was in charge of safeguarding my clean laundry via pile storage. I dug through the pile that rested atop my beanbag chair till I found a communally acceptable outfit. I chose a pink sweater shirt and a pair of light to dark gradient blue jeans. I put both garments on hangers then walked back towards the bathroom.

A cloud of steam rolled out the bathroom door as I opened it. Then I hung my clothes on the back of the curtain rod where they would not get sprayed with water. I exited the bathroom, closing the door behind me, and made my way to my futon. Sitting down, I grabbed the remote to my ancient tv. _Okay so it's not really ancient; I may have exaggerated a little but really its only 25" across and with it being so tiny and not flat it seems old to me._ I turned the tv on to the 9 o'clock news and absorbed the going ons in the world. Now I don't really like the news and most of what is shared with the public is either crazy boring or sickening, but it is very important to keep tabs on current events if one would like to partake in polite conversation. _Tch' more like if I got roped into having to talk to random strangers for an unknown period of time._ After approximately 30 minutes of mind melting, I turned my tv off and went to retrieve my attire.

My now steam pressed clothes were wrinkle free and I quickly changed into them. _Tehehe this is soo much better than ironing. _I grabbed my side satchel from behind my futon and a black hairband. I started to put my hair into a neat high ponytail as I walked to the door and slipped into my black non-slip tennies. _Dammit go in already!_ I wriggled my left foot a little to try and get the heel of my shoe to co-operate with my foot. _Don't make me come down there and untie you!_ I threatened, glaring down at my shoe while pulling my hair through the last loop of my hairtie.

As if the shoe understood that my hands were now free to do it bodily harm, it gave in and accepted my foot graciously. _Heheh, that's what I thought bitch._ I smiled smugly down at it in triumph. Turning my smile into a polite one I opened my front door, walked out, shut and locked it behind me.

"Good morning Miss Chance, off to school already?" a middle-aged woman queried from down the hall. She had chin length salt and pepper hair (which poofed out at odd angles), a kind smile, and a grungy looking orange tabby in her lap.

_Here we go…_ "Why yes, it seems that I am," I replied smiling warmly at her, "and how has your morning fared, Mrs. Satou?" _you crazy old cat lady._

She took a moment, looking up as if in thought. "I suppose everything is all right, though did you hear about what happened down in Apt. 102? It was awful, I can't believe…"

She went on for a while about the newest apartment complex gossip. Every morning it took all of my will power to sit here and pretend to listen to this crap and act like I care.

_Why can't this bitch ever leave me alone?! And why would she even say "off to school already?" like it's a fucking question, I go to school at this time every Thursday!? I mean it's not like she doesn't know that, she practically stalks me waiting for me to come out of my apartment so she can try and kill me via boredom! And really how does she get all of this information- _I nodded a little at what she was saying-_ anyways? Do her fucking cats hide out at people's door listening in to what's going on inside, write reports and turn them into her hourly?! And you know what, how does she get away with having so many damned cats in the first place? This complex has a 2 pet policy for Christ's sake! _

"Oh my, that does sound just horrid," I said looking at her sympathetically. "I truly hope everything gets worked out, please let me know if there is anything I can do to help."

"You're too kind dear really, I am sure everything will turn out just fine. Though if you hear anything please let me know."

"You will be the first to know if I hear anything Mrs. Satou," I said beaming at her. _But not in this lifetime you old two-faced hag. _

She smiled at me then looked down at her wristwatch. She looked mildly surprised for a moment then returned her smile to me. "My, my, the time has slipped away from me yet again. Please do not be late to class on my account."  
><em>Pshhhh, as if I hadn't already learned my lesson there lady, now I leave 30 minutes early every day because of you. <em>I mentally kicked her chair legs out from under her, and had to hold back a snicker when I imagined her affronted expression.

"Don't worry about a thing, Mrs. Satou. I will make it in time; however, I unfortunately must be off. Have a lovely day," I said merrily while waving good bye.

"I look forward to speaking with you again, have a nice day", she replied waving back, face aglow.  
><em>Finallllllly, man imma hafta hury now! And I totally wanted to buy a coffee on my way to school dammit!<em>

With that, I made my way down the apartment stairs and off to school, walking as quickly as was polite to do for a young lady, of course.

_Finalllllllly, hmph!_ I had made it onto campus ground, and I was late. I continued to my class avoiding as much eye contact as possible with people so as not to get stopped along my way. _Dammit! I would have made it in time too if stupid old biddies could cross the street without a fucking guide to help them, or if stupid kids would stop trying to play frogger IRL style. Don't they know to look both fucking ways when crossing, this isn't some video game you don't get three lives, who the fuck raised you!? Grrrrrrrrrrr…_leaving my mental grumblings to themselves for a while, I opened the door to my classroom.

My remedial math teacher looked up at me with worry on his face, soon his expression calmed and shifted to a smile. "Chance-san I was concerned, you are always so punctual. Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine Mr. Yamato, I deeply apologize for not being on time." I said bowing low.

"Oh come now, I will have none of that. As long as you are okay and don't make a habit of it, all is well. Now please have a seat. I was just about to go over quadratic equations."

"Thank you." I replied, smile in place and headed to my seat.

_Phew, thank god Yamato-san's always so chill. I mean the guy's kinda odd but I like him just fine, actually come to think of it I like him better than a lot of people_. _He always looks like he just climbed outta bed though, and his glasses are crooked, I wonder why he hasn't got them fixed yet? And how young was he when he graduated because he looks way too young to be a college professor…..hmmm actually now that I think of it he's kinda hot. If you like that ruffled 'I just woke up' look anyways…..nah, he is defff pretty good looking. _I silently laughed to myself. _I wish he didn't teach math though, I mean something's gotta be wrong with him if he likes math. Who the fuck in their right mind does math all day as a career choice? I mean honestly….Okay, so a lot of people do but really that wasn't my point. Oh shit, I need to pay attention or I'll fail again! _Yanking myself from my inner dialog I paid attention to what Yamato-san was saying….or I tried to at least.

_OMG it's like he is speaking an alien language, I can't understand him at all, what am I gonna do?! This is why I am stuck in remedial math for the third time in a row, I mean what the hell, it's not even my fault if the teacher's refuse to speak an earthen dialect!? I finished almost all my other classes just fine, well mostly fine…I at least passed them, okay. But now I'm stuck, I have no other courses in my program left available for me to take without having completed remedial math, and college algebra as prerequisites. Okay, time to take this like a man, just grin and bear it, come on have some faith! I can do this! Now focus. _

Now at this point we've got a product of two terms that is equal to zero. This means that at least one of the following must be true.

x-4= 0 or x+3= 0  
>x= 4 or x= -3<br>Note that each of these is a linear equation that is easy enough to solve. What this tell us is that we have two solutions to the equation, x=4 and x=-3. As with linear equations we can always check our solutions by plugging the solution back into the equation. We will check x=-3 and leave the other to you to check.

_I cannnnnn't do this!_

As class finished I packed up my notes and heaved my bag onto my shoulder, feeling as if Mr. Yamato had thoroughly defeated me. Right as I was about to walk out the door a hand on my shoulder stopped me. I turned around quickly to see who dare to touch the amazingness that is me! _Oh it's just Yamato-san_. He gestured for me to follow him to his desk and so I did. He sat down sighing and looked up at me with another worried expression, however he waited for the other students to leave before starting to speak.

_Ummmm, this is getting pretty fucking sketchy._ I looked at him starting to get a little tense. _What does he want from me that he can't say in front of the other students? Did I do something? No, I couldn't have. I am practically perfect, he couldn't possibly have any complaints about me, so then what is it? _

I stared at him as courteously as one can openly stare at another. Trying to gain the super powers of a mental vacuum so that I may be able to suck up what knowledge he had to share with me. I saw the last student leave the room out of the corner of my eye and the door shut eerily. _Your move Yamato-san, but you should know I have taken Krav Maga…on second thought I will keep that bit of info to myself, should I need to I will take you by surprise heheheheh._

"Yamato-san, is something wrong," I asked in a mildly worried but kind tone.

"Well you see Chance-san, I am very worried about you and your grades. It seems you are not learning the lessons as well as I would have hoped and I was thinking you may need a little extra help." He remarked positioning his hands so his fingers were steepled.

In my mind I stared him down. _"Extra help" huh, so this is the game you're gonna play, shady indeed sir, shady indeed._ I continued to look at him, waiting for him to finish his train of thought.

"I was tossing around the idea of private tutelage, and it is my belief that you would have a lot to gain from it"  
><em>OMG that sounded so dirty, just what kind of girl do you take me for?! Private tutelage, hah! No one even uses words like those anymore! You think just because I act all polite that I'm ignorant or naïve?! Well you got another thing coming brah! I aint gonna do shady things like selling my body for an A, forget that! And I thought you were handsome you dirty old man you! <em>

"I have a student in my trig class-"  
><em>Oh so now there's two of ya huh?! Well bring it, I can take you both on, and when I destroy you both I will make you bow before me! How do you like them apples!?<br>_" -that would like a bit of extra credit you see, and if you agree to it, and book the time you spend being tutored, I don't see why I couldn't give you both a bit of extra credit. With this help I think both of you will be able to pass." He then smiled up civilly at me, waiting for my response.

_Yeah and then I'l- Woah hold up there a moment? Did he say I can pass?...hmmm maybe this isn't such a bad idea after all, I guess there is no harm in trying at least. 'Tch it's not my fault ya sounded all shady though, seriously you should audition for villain rolls for TV dramas or something._

"That sounds like a grand idea Yamato-san, and if I may who would be my tutor?" I asked grinning warmly.

"His name is Kuwabara Kazuma, his class is later tonight actually. I will let him know that you are willing to try out the tutoring. I'm sure he will be quite pleased. I'll have him get in touch with you to work out a schedule that would be good for both of you. Would you prefer me to give him a phone number or an email address?"  
><em>There you go sounding like a creeper again, really dude, TV dramas I'm telling ya.<em>

I was about to tell him that I would prefer email but I remembered that my poor laptop was massacred this morning by a malevolent flying alarm clock. _Sad day._ "By phone would be fine. Here, I will write my information down for him." I took a notecard from my bag and jotted down my name, phone number and email address, then handed the card to Yamato. I smiled and said, "If he would contact me tomorrow between the times of 10am and 2pm, I am sure we could work something out."

"Thank you, I will let him know." He responded taking the card from me, "Please have a nice afternoon Chance-san".

"No, thank you." I said bowing, "and I hope you have a lovely afternoon as well". With that I turned around and took my leave. _Thank God, my cheeks were beginning to hurt from smiling at him so damn much. _

I pulled my phone from my back pocket to check the time, 1:25 stared back at me. _A-ha! It seems I have enough time to grab lunch before heading to work. Score! _

And with that I headed off to find a suitable place to get a sandwich.

After a small self-debate I had decided to go to Sunflower Café, a small restaurant that made great deli foods near my apartment complex. As I opened the door a small wind chime tinkled, announcing my arrival to the employees behind the deli. I stood back looking over their menu, though I don't really know why because I tend to get the same thing every time. Making a final decision I stepped up to the counter. "Will it be the regular, Chance-san?," the young girl behind the register asked before I even had a chance to say anything.

I giggled a little and replied, "Am I becoming that predictable? And yes, the grilled zucchini sandwich with a side of steamed vegetables will do." _Maybe I come here too much, I think all of the Café's employees know my order by heart, but really they make the best zucchini sandwich in town, ts'not my fault. _I heard the chimes tinkle again, but didn't bother turning around to see who may have come or go.

"I prefer to think of it as dependable." she said winking at me. "And your order should be up any minute now. We kinda started making it when I saw you at the window," she said the last part in mock whisper, grinning and winking at me again. "Oh! See, here it comes now, that'll be 470 yen".

I reached into my back pocket pulling out the small amount of paper cash I carried with me, and handed her the proper amount. Once she put the cash in her drawer she supplied me with a brown paper bag, a picture of a vibrant sunflower adorning the front. I took my lunch from her offering her a small bow and thanked her.

"No, thank you, have a nice day."  
><em>Don't tell me what to do woman. <em>I joked at her from the comforts of my mind.

"You too." I replied while turning around and walking forward. Big mistake. _Kids make sure you look where you are walking before you take that first step._

"Ooooph!" I cried out intelligently, closing my eyes upon impact. I fell backwards, absolutely positive that the rear of my head would collide with the register counter. _What the fuck did I run into? It felt like a fricken brick wall. No scratch that, it felt like a fucking titanium wall. What did I do to deserve this torment, world? Do you always have to conspire against me?! And why the hell did that wall smell like flowers!? Hmmm, shouldn't I hurt yet?_

I happened to notice that my head had not hit anything at all, and I hadn't even made it to saying hi to the floor again. I was completely pain free! _Score!_ _But why?_ It was then that I noticed warmth wrapped around my lower back, and near my face. I cracked an eye open not sure if I really wanted to know what I had gotten myself into, and was greeted with the sight of vivacious yellow shirt, and strands of impossibly red hair. Slowly I looked up and I felt my expression shift from one of incredulity to awe.

Standing before me was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She had long flowing hair the color of rose petals, which seemed to flip in a way that was breathtakingly artistic. Eyes as deep and knowledgeable as ancient emeralds trapped miles beneath the earth looked down at me filled with amusement. She had a smooth pale complexion not a blemish in sight and her face was thin yet angular making her look both delicate and strong. She was quite tall for a woman, but not an impossible height. Although she seemed to have won the lottery in genetics, the poor girl just didn't have a nice rack. _Yep flat as a board, unfortunate thing, and you could have made such a good trophy wife too. Don't worry, someday maybe someone will get you implants, and then you can achieve the trophy wife status you always wanted! _

Apparently my change in expression had been humorous because a short whimsical chuckle escaped from my savior. "Eeep," I gasped, jumping backwards. The warm arm fell away from me. This too seemed to amuse her, but this time she brought her hand up to hide her smile.

"Are you alright?" She asked. She seemed to genuinely care about whether or not I (a complete stranger) had been harmed. _Omg its Keiko all over again, how many benevolent forces could there be in this world. Wait maybe not… she seems amused, I think, am I seeing things?_

I blushed deeply, feeling embarrassed of my rude behavior, then bowed low. "I am so sorry for having run into you like that! It was so rude of me, I really should have looked before walking!" I exclaimed quickly.

"Oh no please, I wasn't paying any attention or I would have been able to prevent this as well." She replied_._ _Wait a minute, something about that sentence or maybe it was the way she said it, sounded as if she were belittling me. Maybe I'm just unreasonable. _

"Please Ma'am, it was entirely my fault, allow me to make it up to you somehow". _Come on bitch just accept the damned apology already so I can get outta here. Maybe I'm just being paranoid again but I swear something feels off about her. Like she's legitly starting to give me the creeper vibe. _The overwhelming instinct to run grasped me so tightly at that moment it was hard to breath. _Roses have thorns. Where the fuck did that thought come from, great now my mind doesn't even make sense to me! I gotta get going, now!_

"No, that would be completely unnecessary. Wait… did you say Ma'a-," the courteous smile slipped, her eyes widening fractionally and head tilting to the side so minutely it was almost un-noticeable.

"Once again Ma'am, I am dreadfully sorry about running into you like that. It was very rude of me and surely you don't deserve to be treated like that, but if you'll excuse me ireallyhavetogetgoing!" I spat out as quickly as possible, not even worried about social niceties this time. I jerked up from my bow and ran out the door as fast as my legs could carry me. I thought I heard her shout out something to me as I ran, but I couldn't be too positive.

I kept running, my bagged lunch cradled to my chest, until I came to my apartment. I unlocked my door and slammed it shut behind me. _What the fuck was that, she didn't seem evil or anything, why did I feel so in danger just then? Omg I still don't feel safe!_ After realizing this I changed from my street clothes into my work clothes as quickly as possible and ran back out of my apartment, almost forgetting to lock the door in my haste. I continued to sprint to the park and down the trails, until I spotted the rabbit shrine. As soon as I saw the shrine I felt a little better and began to slow. I plopped down next to him, and gulped down air. "Good thing I took track in high school, huh old friend?" I asked the small statue. It's true I had taken track in high school, (which is crazy considering how clumsy I am) and I used to be good at running. Key phrase there is, used to. _Geeze, I am sooooo outta shape, I can't even fucking catch my breath after only running a little over a mile! What have I done to myself!?_ I continued to pout internally while I turned to look at my companion. "Oh I brought you something today." I reached into the crumpled paper bag and pulled out my lunch and the steamed veggies I bought earlier. I put the container of veggies down at the base of the shrine, and continued to sit and catch my breath.

Once five minutes or so had passed my pulse had returned to its resting pace. I then ate my lunch peacefully. Upon finishing my lunch I laid down in the grass next to the walking trail and watched the clouds float by. Every once in a while I would talk to the rabbit statue. I told him about class, my troubles with math, my suspicions of Yamato, my upcoming tutoring, and I told him about the lady with red hair and the weird feeling that came along with her.

Time calmly passed and all too soon I had to leave for work. "Well," I said, starting to get up, "I guess I will see you again in a few hours. Who knows maybe I will even bring you a second treat today!" I laughed lightly, "I don't want you to get too spoiled though, goodbye for now…" A strong impulse to call him something hit me at that moment. _But what to call you? And why haven't I thought to give you a name before now, I mean I'm like the queen on naming random objects_. Green the color of cool ripe honeydew intrusively flashed across my mind, _Uri. _

Something inside of me clicked into place almost tangibly. _Uri, yes it just seems too perfect. Again with the weird feelings though._ I bit my lip hesitantly and furrowed my brow. Then I took a deep breath, smoothed out my features, smiled at the statue and said, "Goodbye for now, Uri". The wind picked up ominously around me rustling newly yellowing leaves nestled in the branches high overhead; in that moment I felt another resounding click deep within me. I kindly patted Uri's head, then walked down the path heading towards work trying not to ponder at all the odd goose bump inducing feelings I had been receiving today.


	3. What's a Bardock!

**Chapter 3**

Upon reaching the Yukimura Diner, I walked in ready to get to work. _Hmm? Keiko's not here yet. How strange, I wonder where she could be. I mean the workaholic practically lives here, tch' nerd….wait I think she does live here, on the second floor in fact. Whatever. Either way, NERD. _I mentally shrugged at my thoughts and headed to the counter and clocked in. I then walked through the swing door to the kitchen, afraid of the condition I would find my station in. _The morning fry cook doesn't put anything where I like; no matter how many times I ask him to leave things were they belong, the fucker! Imma hafta reset and refill everything AGAIN like every other fucking day! The nerve of that guy, I swear I just wanna punch him sometimes. _After washing my hands, grabbing an apron and walking back to my station, there I see it, my poor fry station. It's filthy. _Grrrrrrrrrr…._

"Good afternoon, Sota-san. Has it been a busy day for you?" I asked, smiling at him.

"Nah, 'ts been pretty slow actually," he replied, shrugging one shoulder and not bothering to look up from his cell phone.  
><em>Then why the fuck is it so trashed in here you lazy asshole!<em>

"Oh, well I do hope business picks up some tonight then. Please allow me to restock the station, and then it would be my pleasure to approve your clock-out". _I'm not a manager yet, but Keiko, Queen of benevolence, trusted me enough to bequeath me the ultimate power of the clock-in/out machine! Watch as I wield it while you cannot bitch! Mwahahahaha!_

"Yea, whatevs man. Just hurry up okay, I'm supposed to have a date tonight."He mumbled, the majority of his attention still glued to his cellular device. _Asshole, this is your fucking job, and we aren't even supposed to use cell phones during work! Unless it's an emergency of course_._….however Sir Asshat of Fuckington, you do not seem to be in a state of crisis, so get off the damned phone and do your job! _It's not really that I hate lazy people in general but I really can't stand lazy workers, I mean it's like stealing from your boss. Though if your boss is some super supreme evil overlord, by all means, work as slowly as a three toed sloth covered in tar. _But our boss is Keiko, Queen of benevolence, and you are taking all her money and giving her nothing in return! _

Disengaging from conversation with the ingrate, I walked to the cooler and grabbed what I could to start restocking. After four trips from the cooler to the fry station I had everything I needed. I then clocked Sota out and put everything where it needed to be, while completing a few orders of fries and tempura veggies. After my station's coolers, batters, and flour were organized as they were meant to be and I was sure I had everything I needed to run the line, I began to clean Sota's mess. Halfway through my cleaning, the evening grill/ramen cook came in. I stopped to clock out morning shift and clock in the evening shift. I started up my cleaning again and gave a courteous hello when Mr. Kobayashi, my manager, walked from his office to check the line. He returned the gesture and once he was pleased with what he saw, he went back into his little hidey-hole. The night shift ran smoothly, it wasn't too busy but I completed a decent amount of orders, restocking when need be.

Towards the end of the night business tapered off, and I began to pre-close my station. I rummaged around, walking back and forth from the rear of the kitchen to the line, getting everything ready for a quick close. After I was satisfied with what I had accomplished, all that was left to do was wait for the last order to come in so that I could put everything away and clean the fryers. I allowed my mind to wonder, where it frolicked happily amongst my day dreams.

"Last order walking in!" one of the servers shouted to the kitchen staff. Signaling that the last guest had just placed their order, and he was entering it into the POS (point of Sales) system.

I looked up to my ticket machine, waiting. _Please don't order anything fried, please don't order anything fried_, I chanted like a mantra. I stared my machine down, daring it to try and print. I remembered the bell that rolled across my desk earlier today, from the great alarm clock debacle, and thought of how I had found it similar to tumble weed. _I shoulda known I'd be havin a showdown today, well let me tell you this bub. This diner ain't big enough for the both of us so-_ The ticket printer cut me off mid silent rant ignoring any threats I had and was about to make, instead it threw up a string of tickets as if it enjoyed torturing me.

Apparently the last "customer" was a party of eight exceedingly fat people. I snatched the tickets from the machine and hung them up on the line in order of how they were to be completed. _Omg, this is all for one table, who the fuck eats all this fried food!? I mean I don't eat very healthy for the most part, but come'on why are you gonna order shrimp tempura and tempura veggies!?_ _ Can't you get steamed veggies or something? Are you all suicidal, you all want heart attacks or something? You fucking hippos! And who the heck orders Tonkatsu? Nobody that's who and that's why I already put it up, god dammit! I hate you ticket mach-_

Said ticket printer then spat another ticket at me, allowing me to fully understand just how deeply it disliked me as well.

_Argggg! Fuck My Life!_ I grabbed the ticket and hung it up behind the rest then quickly set to work. I had to go all the way to the back cooler to grab a few ingredients though, which slowed me down about 1.5 minutes. _Great, now I have to work even faster!_ Once back in my station I drenched everything in its respective flours and batters, and threw them into the correct fryer baskets. I plunged the baskets into the fryer as I filled them, and turned around to prepare the proper plates and sauces. As all the fryers started to screech at me with their stupid beeping, I removed the baskets from the oil. I then threw the fried food onto a grease absorbent board and coated it with the right seasonings, shaking it a bit I tossed it on a plate, finished plating, adding an elegant design via sauce bottle, and threw the finished dish in the window. Now rinse and repeat this cycle with varying ingredients and plating techniques seven more times.

Flinging the last plate into the window, I put my hands down onto the counter top and sighed. To the right of me I heard a soft chuckle.

"Quite a nice little pop for you, huh?" The grill cooked teased at me, grinning.

I looked to him, his eyes were squinted in delight making the wrinkles near them more defined, and he was bent at the waist a little as to properly regard me from my exhausted stance. For a lack of a better way to describe him, he looked like a teddy bear. He was tall and thick, not fat, but also not in prime condition. His wrinkles were not too bad, he was probably in his mid-forties, and he had the gentlest brown eyes. I liked Joe, he was always nice to me, and well he was always nice to everyone. _Okay maybe those punks who were picking on Keiko a couple of months back wouldn't agree, but really they had it coming, and he didn't rough 'em up too bad. _

"Might I take a guess, and assume you did not receive a single ticket from that?" I stood up and smiled at him.

"Hahaha, sure ya can and you'd be correct too!" he said with mirth, clapping a hand to the back of my shoulder. "Don't worry. It was the last one, and I'll help ya get outta here just fine."

I believed him too, he worked very quickly for such a large person_._ "Thank you, I always appreciate your help." I said continuing to smile at him. After that we cleaned quickly. I let my body go on auto-pilot and my mind wandered.

"Welp, looks like we're all done here. I'll go get Kobayashi so he can check us out." Joe said snagging me from my thoughts like a hooked fish from a pond, then walked away to the manager's office.

_That went a lot faster than I thought, I either spaced harder than normal or Joe musta really wanted to get outta here. Oh well c'est la vie. _

A few minutes passed and Joe returned with Mr. Kobayashi. I stood to the side, smile in place, waiting politely for Mr. Kobayashi to finish checking the stations and dish-pit. He harrumphed once when he deemed everything to be acceptable. "Alright, everything looks good, you're all free to go. Ms. Chance, please clock everyone out." After his brief commentary he turned on his heels and stomped back to his office. _What the fuck does he even do in there that always takes so much time_, I mentally eyed his retreating form.

"Ya heard the man let's beat it!" was Joe's reply to our rude dismissal. He pulled me and the dish washer into an odd bear hug and began to walk, me under one branch of an arm and the scrawny nerd under his other. The reclusive dish washer tried to put up a fight at Joe's gesture but gave in once he realized he was no match for the burly man.

"Awwww come'on Joe, do ya always gatta be like this?" the thin boy in glasses complained.

"Yep and you shoulda learned to deal with it by now!" he replied, goofy grin in place. "You don't see Ashe here complaining now do ya?"

Me, being the person in question, did not complain. I had learned that it is best to let Joe do what he wants. It's not that he gets mean or pouty if he doesn't get what he wants, actually it's the opposite he just becomes more jovial. Also I cannot actually physically stop him. For one it would rude to do so, and for two he is a lot stronger than I.

"Oh come off it Joe, _she_ never complains about anything. No offense Ashe but you act like a doormat." He stated, first mock glaring at Joe then lowering his eyes, and giving in to the larger man. _Why I 'outta slap those stupid glasses right off your nerdy face! How dare you compare me to something that lives to try and scraped dirt off of people's shoes!_

"No offense taken." I smiled at the douche nozzle from under Joe's arm.

"Now, now children let's all get along. We had a good night and everything, no point in ruining it." Joe chided, somehow catching on to my hidden animosity. _How does he even do that? My façade is perfect! Yes it's perfect, he's prolly just saying it to….hmm, what's his name again? Shit, I should know this, I have only worked with him for two years now… oh well I will just call him douche nozzle then. _Joe gave me a knowing look, then grinned at me. _Omg he does know! I have been found out!_ I wallowed in my inner hysteria until we finally reached the POS. Joe let us out from under him so he could clock out, I cleared him, and proceeded to do the same for douche nozzle, and myself.

We walked out the swinging door, and toward the diner exit. Joe and douche nozzle bickering back and forth like brothers. Well, douche nozzle bickering with Joe and Joe happily chatting back. I turned saying goodbye to Mrs. Yukimura who was running the front of house manger duties tonight and walked after Joe and douche nozzle. _Where is Keiko anyways? She normally works tonight, hmmm I hope she's okay. _I left the diner and started to walk the opposite direction of the guys. I heard Joe bellow a goodnight to me, and I offered a wave in return. Turning around before I started walking this time, lest there be a mysterious red haired woman blocking my path, I saw someone or is that two someone's walking in this direction. As the blob got closer I was able to discern that is was in fact two people. It was hard to tell at first because they seemed so thoroughly joined together. _O. m. g. Is that Keiko? I didn't take her for the PDA kinda gal. _The person I presumed to be Keiko then stumbled a little and was caught by her companion. He looked to be a young male in his early twenties, his hair was slicked back in a 1950's American greaser fashion, and he seemed to have moderately tanned skin though it was hard to tell in this lighting. He had a softer face than I was expecting from the confident way he was walking and large chocolate colored eyes. _Damnnnn Keiko, got yourself a looker there, huh? Wait are you drunk!? Since when do you drink? You tricked me into befriending you, then you turn around and do crazy things! Don't worry Keiko I won't leave you, I shall help you to become your old self once again, loyalty runs too thickly through these veins to leave you now! God, I'm such a great friend_ I thought to myself smugly.

"Ashe-channn, s'that you? I guess I didn't realize how late it was". Keiko slurred slightly.  
><em>Ah, so tipsy it is then. Good, being drunk in public could mar her reputation and mine through association. If my mother found out, I would be dead. But she does seem like she is having a good time, I almost wish I had the balls you do Keiko. <em>

"Yes, we just finished closing. How has your evening gone?" I asked smiling.

"Tonight s'been great, Yusuke took me on a date! We are just coming back from dinner." Keiko beamed at me seeming truly happy.  
><em>Ahhh, so this must be the infamous Urameshi. He doesn't seem that bad though. Not like what everyone used to say about him, I guess he calmed down after junior high. Tch' he doesn't even seem as bad as that woman from earlier. Dammit I had been trying not to think of her. Well fine, you know what, if you're gonna be popping up in my mind so much imma give you a name….that's it I'm calling you Scarlet. Heh heh yes Scarlet is purrrrrrfect <em>I internally snickered evilly while wringing my hands. _Oops, I spaced again._

"So, what do you think?" she inquired happily.

_Omg what was she talking about?! Think, think, think. Dammit thinking the word think never helps! Okay statistically what is the best possible answer I could give her without sounding rude? She looks happy, so it's not something bad…okay imma go for it. Winging it powers activate!_

"That sounds nice." I replied _yes go for vague it always works mwahahaha!_

"Glad to hear it! I can't wait, I'll make sure you get scheduled off in ti-" she was cut off by an impatient Yusuke. _Winging it powers have failed. What the hell did I just agree to?_

"Sorry to cut the chit-chat short ladies, but we're running a little late to the second part of our date." He said, cheekily grinning while waggling his eyebrows towards Keiko. "Um nice'ta meetcha. What was it again?" he finished, looking at me with one eyebrow arched.

Keiko blushed deeply at his implications, and looked a little upset to have been interrupted. Which was understandable; he seemed to be pretty rude. Normally, I find this kind of behavior deplorable. However the way he acted, like he just didn't give a damn about what other people thought, like he was going to be who he was no matter what. His whole being seemed to scream "I am me," the way he moved, his speech, his expressions and gestures. It was all so genuine that I found myself respecting him_. Way to be you kid! Don't let the man bring ya down! _I cheered for him.

"Yusukeeeeeee," Keiko let out in a warning growl.

"Oh, no Keiko please don't worry about it," I said, smiling at her then looked up to the type of person I had thought to be extinct. I continued, "My name is Chance Ashton, it was a pleasure to meet you as well. You must be the famous Urimeshi-san that I have heard so much about."

"HA! Did'ya hear that Keiko? She called me Urimeshi-SAN, and famous. I like this kid, where'd ya find her?" He said laughing and poking at Keiko.

Keiko sighed, giving into the ways of her boyfriend. "If you had been listening," she emphasized the word listening, "you would know that she works with me." She then turned to me and smiled, "Please Ashe-chan, I know you were only being cordial but don't fill his head with any more hot air than it already has. As it is, his head may explode any day now". She said it like she was exasperated but I could tell she was only joking.

"Heyyy, no need to be mean Keiko!" Yusuke exclaimed.

The two started to bicker back and forth, and I started to feel like the third wheel. "Well please don't let me hold you two up," I said grinning at the couple, "Have a nice night, and don't over exert yourselves." _That may have been a bit rude but what can I say; this guy gives me a little courage. Heheheh._

Yusuke's head whipped in my direction and he stared at me for a few seconds before he snorted. His snort turned into a fully belly laugh, "Ha! She says 'don't over exert yourselves," he mimicked in my voice, doing a poor job if I do say so myself, and continued to snort.

"Ashton!" Keiko exclaimed and looked at me like nothing had every shocked her more than my slight innuendo. I stared back at her, feigning innocence, like I hadn't understood the double meaning of my own words. "Well, I will be seeing you tomorrow, goodnight." I smiled and bowed at the two and excused myself. Keiko had tried to talk a little longer, but Yusuke was havingnone of that. She decided to yell her goodbye towards me while he pulled her along.

I laughed to myself a little as I started my journey home.

The moon was high overhead by the time I reached the park. I walked along the trail, taking in the calm beauty of the night. _Damn I forgot to grab a carrot for Uri._ I scolded myself. _Oh well, I think he'll forgive me._

I started to feel a weird tingle in the back of my mind. Unease bloomed from the small odd bud, like a time-lapse video, its petals fanning over my mind coating my thoughts with a tinge of fear. I started to walk faster as the fear settled in, some instinct within me telling me not to run.

Did I listen to that instinct? Fuck no, I booked it. _I'm so tired of creepy ass feelings! Like seriously, maybe I'm just going crazy but it feels like someone's watching me! Or something, _my mind chimed in. _Oh yeah thanks a lot imagination, as if I weren't scared enough! Now I'm not only worried about creepy stalkers but monsters too, and I haven't been scared of those since I was five!_ _I swear to God brain if this is just another case of paranoia I will kill you!_

The feeling got stronger, almost as if whatever I was scared of was getting closer to me, then suddenly it sprang ahead of me. I stopped, almost tripping myself with how abrupt my actions had been. I breathed heavily, staring into the darkness and wondered what could be there. I tried to quiet my breathing, bringing a hand to my mouth to muffle the noise my labored breathe was providing so that I could listen.

The sound of a rock skipping across the dirt trail seemed to echo all around me due to the silence of the night. I breathed in and out steadily and noticed I could hear breathing other than my own. If that horrible, ragged, and moist sound could be called breathing. _Great so now my stalker has pneumonia! _I kept staring ahead looking for any sign of movement. I thought I saw something for a second, I strained my eyes but it was meaningless.

"Bardock is hungry," the darkness croaked, "and you look to be a tasty meal to Bardock". It snickered then, probably trying to sound menacing. Don't get me wrong, I was scared shitless but this Bardock sounded like he was really sick. _Man, you should take some ny-quil or something. And did you say I look like a tasty meal! Well if I ate people I would probably think I looked appetizing too, I mean just look at me, but who the fuck eats people?!_

"Um, excuse me sir," I started, "I would prefer not to become a meal. You probably wouldn't want to eat me anyway. I'm covered with grease and I am afraid I would be an unhealthy food choice. I mean, I even smell horrible. Now if you will kindly excuse me, I have a very busy day tomorrow and I need to get home. So if you do not mind I will ju-"

"What the...Bardock does not care for your stupid human problems!" He walked forward coming close enough for me to be able to see him, and grinned greedily, showing off long jagged yellow teeth.

_What the fuck is that! I was just kidding brain, please make it only paranoia I promise I won't kill you! Are those bat wings attached to his arms?! What are you!? OMG he's not even wearing pants, that's just fur covering him from waist down! He looks like some pissed off mutilated human bat offspring! What if he wants revenge on the scientist that made him this way!? OMG noooooo Bardock this was not my doing don't attack me!_ I took a step back as he took another step forward.

"I-I hate to be rude Bardock but I do not believe I am willing to just let you eat me, perhaps I could interest you in something else? I have some go-gurt a-"

"Silence! Bardock does not want your human food! Bardock wants to eat you!" He fumed, sprinting forward and trying to grab me at me.

I threw myself backwards on to the ground, trying to avoid him. _Holy shit it worked!_ Bardock, not suspecting me to suddenly drop, had miscalculated his spring. He flew over me in a similar manner to my alarm clock this morning. However instead of crashing into my laptop, he slammed into the trunk of a large oak. _Score!_ I scrambled to my feet and started to run down the path towards my home.

"Hold still for Bardock!" he screeched. _I will not fucking hold still for you, creeper!_

"I must decline your offer!" I shouted back to him. The sound of great wings beating and wind picking up made me look behind. _Holy shit! He can fly with those things!? They don't even look practical! That's cheating! Okay Ashe, he prolly doesn't want to have a debate on whether or not his wings abide by the laws of physics right now, but dear lord I wish he did!_ He was flying towards me at an alarming rate, "You do not get to decline Bardock's offer!" His irate shout had been mildly tinted with incredulity.

_Shit, okay, maybe he can't fly as well in between trees._ I ran off the path into the dense trees of the park, and tripped on a root then quickly righted myself. _Shit, I can't run on uneven surfaces! How could I forget that?! _My idea had worked, I had been right about him not being able to fly around the trees with expertise. Instead he jumped from branch to branch and glided in between larger gaps like a flying squirrel which wasn't really an improvement. Bardock released a loud maniacal laugh, showing his joy for the chase. _A very happy flying squirrel then..._ I thought with disdain. I focused on running and not tripping while Bardock speedily closed the gap betwixed us.

Claws as long as a chef's knife closed around my arm, I was bombarded by a strong gust of wind and was suddenly being lifted off the ground. I looked up to see Bardock grinning down at me, flying higher into the air. _Akkkkkk! How do I get outta this!? Dammit, I'm afraid of heights, and he's touching me with his feet! Gross! This is bad, reallllllllly bad. I don't wanna be batman kibble. _I mentally sobbed. An image of Uri raced across my mind along with the feeling of safety. _I have to get to Uri_, my instincts yelled at me. _But how do I get him to drop me?!_

I did the only thing I could think of and at the top of my lungs I screamed, "RAAAAAAAAAAPE!" Bardock apparently affronted by this idea, released his hold on me his eyes going wide, jaw dropping. As I fell from his grasp one of his talons raked against my skin, tearing through it. Blood bubbled up from the gash spilling forth and down my arm like a PB&J that had been trying to contain too much jelly.

I fell back to the ground, screaming. Branches and twigs snatched at my skin, hair and clothes. I bounced off the ground once, twice, and a third time. _Fuck that hurt…Gah!_ I rolled and dodged Bardock's claws again. Springing up and continuing to run but this time with a purpose.

"Bardock does not rape! Bardock is more sophisticated than that!" He chided angrily.

"Oh I'm sorry, I must have missed the sophistication in all this," I replied letting sarcasm coat my words. _I'm so close, I can feel the shrine getting nearer! _ I pushed my aching legs harder, willing them to move faster. My whole body protested at the speed I was making it move. My adrenaline rush was beginning to taper off, and doubt was trying to take its place. _Come on just a little further _I cheered myself on winding in an out of trees._ Don't give out on me now body! _Black started to crowd my vision but I kept my feet moving. I could hear Bardock catching up once again behind me and I was losing any hope that I'd be seeing tomorrow.

_Wait! Is that?! Yes! That's the shrine!_

A new energy burst forth within me, the black in my vision receding. _I can make it!_

"What are you doing human?! Stop it! Bardock has never seen spirit energy do that before! Bardock does not like it! Stop!" Bardock sounded royally pissed at this point. _What the fuck is a spirit energy? Bardock, you are insane!_

Not caring to sound polite anymore I yelled, "Well Bardock can just suck it then! Oomph!-" It seemed Bardock certainly did not want to suck anything, because as soon as I made that remark he had thrown himself at me in a fit of rage. My eyelids slammed shut at the violence of the impact as we were thrown forward, kicking up dirt and rocks as we skidded along the trail. If I lived I would have road rash on my chin for weeks. Angry fingers wrapped around my neck and pulled tight. Opening my eyes, I threw an elbow back but hit only air. I began to kick and buck trying to get the bat off me but he would not let go. Instead he tightened his grip more and pushed against me with his hips effectively pinning me to get me to the ground.

"Be still. Bardock commands you." he huffed in frustration.

"Fu-ck you," I choked out.

Bardock growled and tightened his hold on my neck yet again. If things kept going this way, my neck would get snapped in half before I needed to worry about oxygen. _Hm, that's probably preferable to suffocating anyway._ I looked to my left at to my amazement, the shrine was inches away from me. _I'm so close! _I mentally reached towards it, not knowing if I could move at this point. _Please, help me…_I begged from to the shrine. Instinctively I tried to stretch my hand out to it as well. Reaching out to it with everything I had, I managed to touch the foot of the stone statue. I watched as I accidently smeared the blood and dirt that had been caked onto my fingertips along Uri's feet. I pressed my hand against him as if I were trying to get his attention.

"h-hel…p me," I barely managed to rasp.

"No one will save you from Bardock, silly human!" he said, laughing as if at a child who had just said something remarkably funny but was too young to quite grasp what was humorous.

At this point, my tunnel vision had come back with a vengeance, and blackness ate away at my sight quickly closing in around me. The only thing left unaffected by the darkness in view was the coagulating blood and soil mixture I had stained the statue with.

"Ur…i," getting that name through my lips was the hardest thing I had ever accomplished. My throat was collapsing, and my mouth had been as dry as flaking snake skin which had been long ago discarded under the desert sun. But as soon as it fell from my lips a light washed over me. It was so remarkable that I couldn't see, hear, smell, taste, feel, or even think anything else. It was so bright I had mistaken it for white, but on closer inspection it was green. The green of honeydew invaded me so soundly that for an amount of time that was an eternity yet an instant all at once. I became that light. For the third time that day I felt a click. Unlike the first two, this click thundered through me and was accompanied by a tethered feeling, almost as if I had become connected to something indefinitely.

The sound of stone ripping apart awoke me to the world all around. The statue of the rabbit blast outwards, exploding from within and that beautiful light, _my_ light burst forth. It was the single most stunning thing I had ever seen. Bardock however, did not agree with me. His arms flew away from my neck to block his face, as he was flung backwards off of me by one of the shattered pieces of statue. I watched as Bardock flew backwards, expression contorted with fear and astonishment. _Heheheh, he looks like he just shit himself, priceless._

"Yo! What's up? You can't know how long I have been waitin' for you to do that, Ashe! It's so cramped in there!" An overconfident, snarky voice rang out like a bell from behind me in the direction of the shrine. "Looks like you could use a little help, huh?"

I wanted to turn my head and look at who had come to my rescue, but I found that I lacked the needed energy to do so. _Uri,_ my mind told me, _but, he's a statue. That's not even possible…_ my thoughts trailed off. I was simply too exhausted to think.

I heard someone with either an extremely lazy or very laid back gait walk towards me, feet dragging. _Uri,_ my mind told me again, _okay fine whatever you win this time imagination._ Once Uri was next to me, I heard the sounds of rustling clothes and felt a warm hand gently ruffle my hair.

"You did pretty well for your fist fight with a demon, but you should take a nap. No worries; I'll handle the rest." Uri started gently, then ended in a cocky tone.

His hand left my head, and I almost wanted to whine that the comforting feeling had left. I heard Uri walk towards the direction of Bardock, and realized that at some point my eyes had closed because I couldn't see that stupid bat anymore. I tried to stay conscious but it felt impossible. My world spun into blackness.

"Bardock, is sorrrrrry!" Bardock cried out, followed by a laugh and a loud thump.

Then I was gone.


	4. Enter the Honeydew Rabbit, Uri

**Chapter 4**

Koenma's Point of View

I sat at my desk, shuffling around papers, signing and certifying documents. Taking a sip of my hot tea I looked down at the next page. I read for a little while. Then in big red letters, I stamped, "REQUEST DENIED" onto the sheet, before tossing it onto my growing stack of finished paperwork. _Really now, why would Rando of all people think I would let him out on probation this soon? _I sighed and picked up the next sheet. I started to read-

"LORD KOENMA!" George, my blue ogre assistant, slammed open the door and came barreling to my desk.

"Really George I don't have time for you right now. Can't you see I'm busy?!" I spat around my mafuukan. _It's not a pacifier no matter what Yusuke says._

"No really Lord Koenma Sir, it's an emergency this time! It's th-"

"How many times do I have to tell you George, you don't have to ask me every time you have to go to the bathroom!"

"But Lord Keonma sir, a spirit world warden's energy has been detected on earth!"

"The Wardens are allowed to go where they want, now stop bothering me with-"

"But Lord Koenma! We checked into the energy signature because it seemed a little strange and it turns out that a human girl was the cause of the energy signature!"

"Hm, that is a bit odd, but not unheard of. I'll have one of the SDF look into it tomorrow,. Maybe we can look into employing this girl. Now leave me alone George, I have a lot of work to do. On second thought, bring me a new cup of tea and then take your leave." I stated firmly starting to go back to my paperwork.

"But Lord Keonma, she has already released one of the imprisoned demons in ningenkia." George said starting to pout.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?! Why didn't you tell me that in the first place!" I shouted climbing over my desk, destroying any of the organization I had completed, to smack the ogre over the head. "This is bad! Dad's gonna kill me! George keep this quiet, he can't find out! Go tell whoever else knows, that I am on it and not to spread the news! I have to call Yusuke!"

"But he doesn't work for you any-"

"You don't think I already know that?! But he has to do it, I don't have another spirit detective trained yet!"

"He's not gonna be too happy to hear tha-"

"I don't care! Go and do what I told you to!" With that George scrambled out of my office, shutting the door behind him. I jumped back down into my seat and grabbed the remote to my projector. Turning it on and dialing Yusuke's communicator, I waited for him to pick up.

His face popped up on my screen, he was flush and breathing pretty hard.

"This better be good binky breath, because I know that you know I don't work for you anymore." he said through gritted teeth. _Hm, I must have called him at a bad time. But there's no time for that now!_

"Yusuke, you're my only hope! There's a psychic girl near your location who has-"

"Yep this sounds boring already, find someone else to play the part of Obi Wan this time."

"Yusuke! Did you really just open that communicator in the middle of-" Keiko's voice was cut off as the line disconnected.

I felt my face flush after imagining what I had interrupted, then more heat rushed to my face in anger. "Dammit Yusuke! Now what am I supposed to do?" I exclaimed. Instantly I dialed Kuwabara, who didn't even bother to pick up. _Come on boys, don't leave me hanging now! Okay I will try Kurama, he will help! He's always the most helpful anyway, I should have called him from the start!_ I dialed Kurama's communicator, and he picked up almost immediately. _Thank you Kurama!_

"This had better be important Keonma, I have already served my time with you." He said, appearing mildly irritated.

I gulped. _I forgot how scary Kurama can be._ "It is, I assure you! Kurama you are old enough to remember the yokai prison cells on earth, correct?"

"Yes and as I recall your father had attempted to trap me in one of those 'shrines'."

"Heheh, yes well good then I won't have to explain that part to you. Now it seems as if a psychic was able to open one of the cells near your town."

Kurama looked shocked, well as shocked as Kurama ever looked, then worried, probably for his mother, he stayed silent waiting for me to finish. _I see I have gained your attention, good._

"She seems to have an ability that closely resembles to that of the spirit world wardens, and shares an energy signature similarly. I need her apprehended and brought to me for questioning, along with the yokai she freed."

"Understood, do you have her file? It would be helpful to have as much information as possible before tracking down someone so dangerous. Also who did she free?"

"I'm downloading her file as we speak, hold on." Quickly I started to download the file. The projector screen splitting so that on the right was my call with Kurama and on the left was the file. _Stupid Kurama always has to be a step ahead of me, hurry up and download already!_ Kurama cleared his throat impatiently. _Yes!_

"Alright, it says here that her name is Ashton Bryiene Chance. Her father is American and her mother is a born Japanese citizen. Hmmm…" I quickly skimmed through the information looking for something that would be useful in Kurama's search. "Here we are, she attends college just a few miles away from your home it would seem. Also she works at," My eyes bulged at the name of the business, "ahem, she works at the Yukimura Diner. I will send you the rest of the information shortly. Also I have a team working on figuring out which yokai's cell she broke. I will give you a call with the Yokai's information when I get it." I messed around with the remote a bit trying to send just the current information of Ashton Chance's file to Kurama's communicator, while making a mental note to get a team on finding out about the yokai. _Oh I think this must be it. _I clicked a few buttons and accidentally sent Ashton's whole file to Kurama…._dammit! Some of that is confidential…oh well, hopefully no one finds out_.

Kurama looked to be studying for a moment, recognition flashed across his eyes and he seemed to be more at ease. "I will bring her to you; it shouldn't be too much trouble. Now if you don't mind I was in the middle of studding for a final tomorrow and should get back to it. Goodnight Koenma." And the line died.

_Well that was just odd….If he says he can do it I will just have to have faith in him. At least I didn't have to go to Hiei. _I shuddered at that thought for a moment and went back to my paperwork.

Ashton's Point of View

Birds chirped happily from above and all around me. Twigs and small branches creaked slightly as a calm breeze bade them sway to its will, leaves fluttered together dancing with the wind, and it was to this morning's song that I stirred. I felt rejuvenated, at peace, warm… and a little moist. _That's weird. I never feel this good in the morning….and why the fuck am I wet? Are those birds? Why can I hear them so loudly? _I cracked an eye open, to inspect why my apartment had become a wildlife exhibit and was met with the view of grass. The blade directly in front of me held a ball of dew balancing at its tip. _What the fuck!? I'm outside! Why?!_ Small sparrows continued to peck at the ground at my side, ignorant of my building hysteria. Images of Bardock and last night's escapade hit me like a bullet train. _Akkk! Where is that bat bastard?! Did I get away!? _I tried to jump to my feet but found I could not; something was pinning me down holding me close. It occurred to me that this is where the warmth was coming from. _Gak! He has me! Noooooo! _I squirmed trying to get out of Bardock's hold. The sparrows, alerted to my presence, took flight into the safety of the nearest tree and chirped insults at me. Soon I relinquished my attempts to escape, even asleep he was far too strong for me. I looked down, not wanting to see Bardock's grey-purple flesh but needing to know and let out a sigh of relief when it turned out to be a normal arm. _Kind of pale though. Wait, who the fuck is touching me!? _

The arm pulled me in closer, pressing me against a firm chest. A warm nose nuzzled against the base of my neck, and slow even breathing ruffled my hair. A shiver ran down my spine. The person shifted moving their hips closer to mine and I was prodded by something firm. My eyes widened from the indecent contact. I was not completely innocent when it came to bedroom affairs, but I didn't even know who this guy was. _Omg please just be a sword hilt or something! _Why he (_yes, definitely a he!_) would be carrying a sword is beyond me but let's just say weirder things have happened to me over the last 24 hours. With newfound vigor I tried squirming again. _Get off of me ya damned pervert! Did you kidnap me?! Oh no, I have been kidnapped! Tell me where I am, and why you brought me here!_

I wanted to demand answers threatening his life if he refused to tell me anything; instead I asked, "Um, excuse me sir, I hate to be rude but where are we and do I know you?" _Damn my social complex!_ He stirred again then let out a huff and slowly pulled his arm away from my mid-section. As soon as I was free I rolled to the side, becoming moister as I went through the dew covered grass. I jumped up, turning towards his direction. My sudden movements had made me slightly dizzy so I shook my head before eyeing him. I was shocked at what I saw.

There lounging on the grass before me was a young man with a lanky build, appearing to be around the age of 19. He wore plain grey robes that were held together by a cheerful cream colored sash with the pattern of clovers splashed across it. Shaggy chin-length hair whimsically framed his face, hair that was _my _color, the green of honeydew. He peered up at me from under long unkempt bangs with eyes that reminded me of winter pine needles, starbursts of green running through the irises. One of his ears twitched at my scrutiny and I felt my mouth pop open in surprise. Running down past his hair line were two floppy bunny ears, the outsides covered with fur the same color of his hair while the fur lining the insides of his ears where the color of rich buttercream. _Uri_. My subconscious recognized him before I could. _H-how is this possible?!_

"Ya know, if ya take a picture it'll last longer. And besides what's with the 'excuse me sir' crap. I thought we had moved past all that a long time ago." He stated, scrunching his nose. He seemed to have been offended by my impersonal comment.

"Oh would you go ahead and close your mouth before you start attracting flies? Though you do smell like fly food, so that may be a moot point." Okay, so maybe he had been offended by my particular fragrance and not my comment. Or perhaps it was both? Either way I abruptly shut my mouth. It was rude to gape at people, even if they did have rabbit ears.

"Uri?" I questioned hesitantly.

His slighted expression broke, forming into a grin as he stood up, dusted off his robe and slipped into a pair of wooden zori. "Hey, now you're getting it! I was afraid I was going to have to spend hours convincing you. I suppose you have some questions though. Now's as good a time as any to clear the air, fire at will". He seemed to think about something for a second then put a hand on his hip and pointed to me, "but don't try to pull all that polite shit with me, don't think I buy it for a second." He grinned like a Cheshire cat then folded his arms across his chest in a challenging manner. "Aaaaactually. I find it to be socially unacceptable for you to lie to me, one of your closest friends."

My mouth popped open in surprise once again. _Whhhhhat?! He can't just make up rules like that! He's cheating! And I do have a lot of questions but now I don't even know how to properly phrase them! And how does he know my politeness is just a front! Okay, that's probably because I told him….damn sneaky rabbit! Doesn't he know Trix are for kids?! Why, Uri, why did you have to go and mind fuck me?! _Mentally, I sank to my knees and put my palms to the earth. I created a fist with my left hand and beat against the ground, pouting like a child. To the outer world this appeared as a bunch of emotions passing across my face, finishing with my mouth opening and closing a couple of times before I could actually get words to come out. Uri snickered at my dilemma but refrained from saying anything, waiting for me to speak.

"W—wh-where the fuck are we?" _Grrrrrrrand, s_arcasm dripped through my mind. My confusion at not knowing how to handle this particular situation had me saying my inner dialog with my outer tone of politeness. Creating an odd mix of crass words with the tone of an innocent young lady. This seemed to be too much for Uri though, if his actions gave any indication. He stared at me for a few seconds then doubled over in laughter, clenching his stomach he looked up at me with tears in his eyes.

"Oh my god, you look like you're constipated! What the hell, man? That was like the funniest thing I have ever seen you do!" He then continued to laugh at me for a few more moments. _Thc' well s'not my fault! You're the one who made odd requests in the first place! Stop laughing at me!_

"Well are you going to answer or not?" I pouted at him. His laughter tapered off and he wiped at his eyes.

"We are still in the park; I dragged you off the path for privacy. You told me where you lived and I thought about bringing you there but I wasn't sure where it was exactly…" He finished tweaking his nose to the left and scratching behind his ear. _That makes sense, I guess. I wonder why I feel so good though. Shouldn't my back be killing me after sleeping on the ground? And didn't I get the shit kicked outta me last night?!_ I looked down at myself checking for the unfelt damage. My uniform was torn in some places and covered in dirt, flour, blood and grease stains. My skin, though as dirty as my uniform, was remarkably unmarred by any bruises or cuts. _How the devil? _

Uri taking note of my confusion stated, "Oh that? I healed you last night before bringing you here."

I looked up at him in surprise, eyes wide. "You healed me?"

"Yeah, it's easy. No biggy, it's kinda my specialty." He said as if it were nothing while picking at his robe.  
><em>Ummmm, okay then….<em>

"Where's Bardock? And what was he? And for that fact, what are you?"

"Woah now, one at a time. There's no need to worry about that bat yokai anymore and as for me, Im a rabbit yokai."

"Wait! Like demons?!"

"I guess you could say that, but not in the biblical sens-"

"So you were like, what, trapped inside that statue?"

"Wellllll, in a way. You jump from topic to topic pretty quickly, huh?" He scrunched his nose to the right as he bit his bottom lip. He then began to explain, using his hands as he spoke. "Okay, get this, so that statue was like a locked door. Behind that locked door was a small room in which I could see the outside but the outside couldn't see me. Almost like a tiny, boxed in, parallel dimension of one way glass. Ya followin' me?"

I wasn't sure that I was, but nodded vigorously wanting him to continue.

"Good. Now, this is where it gets kinda confusing. Honesty, I'm not too sure how your abilities work to be exact. But after experiencing last night, along with some rumors I had heard about the war…" He cleared his throat almost nervously. "other people with abilities like your own. It is my belief that you have to be trying to open the door to the 'one way glass' dimension, but no matter how hard you try you cannot do it without my help. Now, to do this you have to reach out with your spirit energy." _There's that word again._

"What's spirit energy?"

Uri rolled his eyes at me. "Spirit energy is the energy that surrounds all humans. Some humans are born with higher amounts than others and some can get their energy to grow over time. It's what causes you to get that 'weird feeling' you were talking about. You know, you described it to me yesterday when you were talking about that chick with the red hair." He explained waving at the air like there was a mosquito pestering him.

"Like I was saying, you used your spirit energy to pull at the door and I used my yokai to push, then you took hold of my energy and meshed it with your own so that you could unlock the door. Theoretically, I don't even have to be pushing with my energy, it just makes things easier for you. Anyways, once you merged our energies and 'unlocked the door', you opened it. Opening the door however sent out like a sonic boom of our combined energy, and since you didn't let go of me, the force caused by opening the dimension tethered our energies together….your mouth is opened again."

I closed my mouth, teeth clicking together from the vigor of my action.

Once my mouth was closed, he continued. "The rest of this is just going on rumor and speculation but, from my understanding, with some practice, you have the ability to coerce these connections. As I said, I don't think I had to be reaching out to you, you might be able to just take hold of my energy through brute strength. So let's say you were to open another shrine, you could choose to let that yokai go or you could bind them to you. So technically speaking, you can let those bound to you go whenever you want, or you could not bind them at all. I don't recommend doing this however because you never know… are you even getting all this?"

"Um…I think I might be a little overwhelmed by it, could we take a break from the constant stream of info? I'm getting kinda hungry too." I exclaimed, enthusiastically rubbing at my temples. _Arrrrg! I don't understand at all, and I'm getting my major in philosophy! I feel like I just got lectured at by Yamato-san! Damn these people and their alien languages. Okay, food. Food and a shower should help everything sink in!_

Uri laughed at my antics and held his hands up in defeat. "Okay, okay let's go get some grub! I haven't eaten anything in ages!"

He started to walk toward what I assumed to be the direction of the park trail. I followed him, noticing that he had a cute green and cream colored rabbit tail hanging out of a slit in the back of his robe. "Wait, how long were you stuck in that dimension thingy anyways?"

"Hmmmm, that's a good question. It was probably around 500 years or so," he sighed.

I stiffened. _What the fuck, 500 YEARS!? Oh my Gawd! That would totally suck! And just how old is Uri anyway?! He must be like ancient! And why doesn't he talk with a weird accent or something?_

"U..um Uri?"

He looked back at me and kept walking. "Yeah, what's up?"

"Just how old are you?! And if you have been locked up for so long, how are you using modern day slang?" I asked, trying and failing at keeping the shock out of my voice.

"Welllll, I have been watching ningenkai for a while so I kept up with the common era speech patterns. And as to my age I'd guess I'm around 650 to my early 700's. I'm not too sure though. I lost track of time while I was impri- trapped inside the shrine."

"Wait, how'd you get stuck in there anyway?" I asked skeptically.

His ears snapped up, then flattened to the back of his head making him look guilty. "Ehhh heh...heh, um, well that's a long story. I will have to tell you some other time. I thought you were overwhelmed anyway." He turned his head forward and seemed to be very intent on looking for any sign of the park path. _Okay, because that wasn't suspicious._

"How do I know you won't try to eat me like Bardock?!"

He sighed, deflating a little, tail and ears drooping. "I make it a habit to not eat humans, they don't taste good and are high in cholesterol. Also the bond you created merged my life energy to your own. Basically, my life pool just became yours and if you die while I am still bonded to you, I die. Since a yokai can practically live as long as they want provided they don't get killed; you have just theoretically added thousands of years to your life span."

"Wait! What?!" I tripped from surprise because I had stopped focusing on where I was putting my feet. He was at my side in an instant righting me.

"Akkkkk! No indecent touching!" I squawked, jumping back. He looked at me like I had completely lost my marbles.

"Indecent touching?" He quipped, eyebrow arching.

"Um, yeah you know, like this morning…." I said looking off to the side. _Shit, why can't I control my words around him?_

His nose twitched back and forth for a second and he scratched behind his ear. My face went red and I muttered while staring down a sakura tree, "You poked me." I barley whispered. "And I just wanted you to know that it's unacceptable and you are not to do it ever again! Hmph!" I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye as I finished. He stared at me blank faced, ears twitching. Then it seemed he was beat over the head with an epiphany, after which he busted a gut.

"Haaa! It was morning, Ashe! Geeze prude, that's just natural. It's not like it meant anything!" He choked out between laughs. He rubbed tears away from his eyes, "You're so much funnier like this! You shoulda broke me outta there ages ago!"

I harrumphed and stomped forward, leaving Uri to follow behind me, still snickering. We walked a few more minutes and Uri's giggling died down after a while. Then I saw someone running. _Oh! There's the trail! _I sped up trying to get to the path, glad that I wouldn't have to watch my every step, but suddenly a problem occurred to me. _Uri can't walk around like that in public! He has rabbit ears for crying out loud! _

Before we could break the tree line I tackled Uri to the ground trying to hide him from any nearby runner's view. His eyes grew wide at my sudden attack, then narrowed as his shocked expression was taken over by a deviant grin. "I thought you said no indecent touching?" he asked coyly.

"Oh, stuff it!" I yelled in a whisper, rolling off of him and gesturing for him to stay down. "You can't go out there like that, I mean you have rabbit ears!"

Uri got up off the ground squatting on his haunches, playing along with my command to stay hidden. He thought for a moment, and hummed putting a finger to his chin. "Nobody should be able to see these ears… But there is some merit to your worrying, if we ran into anyone with a decent amount of spirit energy we would probably look suspicious." He whined at the idea of maybe having to cover them up. He looked down at his sash, twitching his nose. "I guess I could wrap this around my head," he reached to grab it.

"And let your robe fall open?! Walking around mostly naked wouldn't be any better!" I continued my hushed rampage.

"I suppose you're right," he beamed at me, both eyes closed. _  
>What, thats all you had to offer?! That's no fucking help! Tch' guess it can't be helped then.<em>

"Here take this, but only if giving you it to you won't 'free' you or whatever like some kinda deranged house elf," I said, shoving my work hat into his hands.

"Mannnn, this thing totally smells bad though. And what in the world is a house elf?" He asked, pulling his ears to the top of his head and donned the flour and grease spattered hat.

"Um…never mind about that. Can you tuck your tail into your robe too?

He huffed and mumbled something about paranoid human brats while reaching behind him and tucking his tail into his robe. "Is my appearance acceptable for the public eye now, master?" he mocked me, rolling his eyes and walking out of the tree line. _Uhg, what am I gonna do with you?_ I got up and followed him down the path.

As we reached the end of the park he allowed me to lead, I got the strange feeling that I should keep to well-populated areas as much as possible. _It feels like we are being watched._ However, we were getting a lot of strange looks from people causing my complex to flare up, making me wish we were invisible. I peeked at Uri but he hadn't seemed to notice anything unusual so I kept my paranoia to myself, making sure to take a busy route to my apartment. _Even if we get stared at it's better to be safe than sorry._ I tried to reason with myself. _But I really wish they would stop staring, I can feel them judging me with their eyes._ I whined in my head. We walked in silence, Uri inspecting and touching random objects as we went. Every so often he would ask me what this was, or what the purpose of that was. I even had to hold him back at a cross walk, grabbing his hand before he could wonder across the street while the light was still green.

"What, there's nothing coming?" he said looking mildly perturbed.

"Still, we have to follow the traffic signs", I said pointing to the cross walk light. He rolled his eyes but waited by my side. I led the way across the street and turned down the road my apartment complex was on.

A flash of rose red caught my attention from the corner of my eye, causing me to do a double take. When I turned to look, nothing was there. _Scarlet? No, that's just crazy._ I pushed away the thought and turned into the complex. We walked up the stairs and across the hall sat Mrs. Satou, grey cat in her lap. She looked shocked to see me coming home at this time and affronted at my appearance. She then looked to Uri eyeing him and his strange attire. _Greattttt, I'm going to be the newest gossip now. Why can't she just keep her nose outta my business?!_

"Long night dear? And who's the lovely young gentleman?" The crazy cat lady preened, excited for new gossip material.

I mentally sighed and plastered a polite smile onto my face. "Good morning Mrs. Satou, this is my friend Uri. Uri, this is Mrs. Satou, my neighbor." Uri gave me a look like "this is _the_ crazy cat lady?" _Oh God, he knows too much. Please don't say anything weird Uri._ He smiled cheekily at her, "Nice 'ta meetcha," he sauntered over to her offering a hand, "Ashe has said so many _wonderful_ things about you, and it seems she hasn't given you enough credit."

"Oh my, really now. Ashe is always just too kind." She said blushing. Accepting his hand and smiling at me. _Thank god, Uri! You're doing great, just don't let her know 'those wonderful things' were about her insane cat fetish and we might get outta here alive._

"Yes isn't she just wonderful? Now I hate to be rude but Ashe and I have to get ready for an apointment. If you'll excuse us," he finished, beaming at her, sarcasm and amusement dripping from him. Luckily, Mrs. Satou didn't seem to pick up on his hidden rudeness, but she gave me the "I want the details later" look before Uri grabbed my keys from me, unlocked my door and pushed us inside. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Satou-san," he called over his shoulder, shutting the door firmly behind him before she had a chance to reply. _He was doing so well too._

"You didn't have to shut the door on her like that." I chided.

"Did you really want to stand around and talk to her for the next hour?" He quipped.

"Well, no, but still it was rude." I said slight annoyance tinging my tone.

"Should I care?" he replied, taking the hat off his head, and running a hand through his hair. "It's not like you even like her, I don't see how it matters. Besides I don't think she even realized I was being rude." He then reached behind him to fix his tail. "Ah! That feels sooooo much better!" He said happily, taking his Zuri off at the door and going in to inspect my small apartment.

"Gah! You're impossible!" I exclaimed, taking my shoes off roughly and leaving them next to Uri's. I then stomped to my fridge, grabbed a Sapporo, and chugged it before tossing the empty container towards the bottle buddies.

I walked back around Mr. Lazy and looked at Uri. He was poking at my TV, looking confused. I grabbed my remote and brought it to him showing him how to work it. After explaining the concept of a TV and the basics of how it worked I left him to sit on my futon. _Okay I shouldn't be too hard on him, I may find all this yokai stuff hard to understand but he has it worse than me. He has to learn everything there is to know about modern society that he wasn't able to pick up from inside the shrine._

I walked back to him. Standing behind the futon where he sat, I put my hand on his head. Ruffling his hair gently, I was surprised to find it to be just as soft as rabbit's fur. He leaned his head into my hand so that I was ruffling near behind his ear. "I'm sorry for my outburst Uri; I'm just a little overwhelmed is all. I'm going to take a shower, and if you are hungry there may be something still edible in the kitchen. You might have to look pretty hard though because I still have to clean my fridge out and go shopping." I finished with a light laugh.

"Alright that sounds good! Maybe I will try and make something for the both of us," he said grinning, leaning his head back to look up at me.

I smiled back then headed for my bathroom. I sobbed a little when I saw my reflection however. I was covered head to toe in mud, blood, and fry station. My makeup had tried to crawl off my face, leaving black trails in its wake. My hair was sticking up in any direction it could, as if it were trying to escape my head. I sighed, turning on the hot water, and brushing my teeth while waiting for it to heat up. The feeling of someone watching me ebbed a little but I still couldn't kick the eerie feeling of being hunted. My instincts told me that someone or something was after me. After last night I am beginning to think it unwise to ignore them. The image of red roses full of thorns came to mind.

_Scarlet._


	5. That's my Tutor?

**Chapter 5**

My shower seemed to take hours. I had scrubbed my skin raw till every inch of it appeared to glow back at me like the nose of a famous reindeer. It had taken 3 cycles of washing and rinsing my hair before the suds that ran down my body were a shiny white and contaminant free. I lathered my hair with pomegranate conditioner, then began to shave, letting my conditioner and thoughts sink in. Everything seemed so foreign to me, youkai, spirit energy, life energy, opening dimensions, being hunted, the list went on for miles. I had lived my whole life with such a shallow view of the world, missing so much of what was real and going on all around me. Things existed that were supposed to be fairytales and monsters walked among us daily.

For a moment I truly wished that I could take it all back and remain blissfully ignorant of this strange domain filled with energies and concepts I did not quite yet grasp. Sighing, I quickly decided that knowing was better than not. And rather than wasting time contemplating the how's and why's of the mysteries of the universe and trying to work out its grand secrets, I found it was much easier to just accept the fact that some things just are.

Guilt struck me as I realized that had I been granted that stupid wish, I would never had met the true Uri and he would still be trapped within the shrine. Terror shot through me at the idea of Uri being taken away. He had sown a seed in my heart when we first "met". Suppressed memories took control over my thoughts rampant in their freedom sending my mind into a whirl of flashbacks.

It was the evening after the funeral of my best friend and first love, Kira. He had been my neighbor and we grew close, much like siblings, in childhood. We always had each other so we never looked to build ties with any of the other children, never thinking that this could cause us to be completely alone in the future. Time passed and we entered junior high, our hormones ran rampant and it wasn't too long before we saw each other as more than "friends". Before I knew it we had been dating for two years, we shared our "first time" with one another, convinced we were soul mates, and planned to get married the day after our high school graduation. My mind quickly passed over the devastating recollections cringing from the pain of lingering too long already.

I flashed forward to the morning of Kira's death. I had been upset with my mother for scolding me on social etiquette. Calling Kira up I vented about the ice witch, and decided I needed to get out of the house. He helped me sneak out my bedroom window and we took a bus to the mall, neither of us being able to drive yet, seeing as it was our last year in middle school. We got to the mall and hung out like any other day. I was still feeling a little rebellious towards my mother's strict will however even after Kira worked so hard on cheering me up.

We left the mall high on our giddiness, unfortunately on our walk back home I acted out. Stubbornly, I made the conscious decision to be rude, almost as if I had been trying to prove something to someone. To this day I am not sure what I was trying to prove or two whom, my mother perhaps, myself, Kira? The stranger that received the brunt of my revolution was more volatile than I had ever thought possible other than on TV. He had called himself Goki, and he was huge, I had been an idiot. Goki became annoyed and as a result he swung a meaty fist at me saying that I needed to be tenderized before devoured.

I hadn't understood anything back then but looking back on it now I would bet anything that Goki had been a yokia, like Bardock. Kira jumped to my defense heroically taking the hit for me, then told me to run and get help. I listened and sped off to fetch a police officer like a coward. By the time I acquired aid and made it back to Kira it had been too late, he was dead. I stayed by his side as long as I was allowed and refused to speak to anyone, contemplating the wisdom my mother had spoke when she preached on the importance of good manners. I continued my vocal fast throughout the funeral but couldn't help but break custom and run off when my mother criticized me for being too silent during the event. I kept running and soon found myself lost in the middle of a terrible storm. I had been sobbing when I tripped into the rabbit statue that caught me. The rabbit seemed to have been waiting for me for longer than I could comprehend. It was like he was calling out to me, asking for me to tell him all my troubles much like Kira would have.

I sat with Uri that whole night, speaking for the first time in days, telling him everything that had happened. I told him of the guilt I had at causing Kira's death, the lonliness that was eating away at me, how it hurt when all I saw in my mother's eyes was disappointment, I told him I didn't deserve to live but I knew I had to. I mentally locked Kira's box storing it away into a place hidden within my subconscious, focusing on Uri.

After 'that night', I made it a habit to see Uri at least once a day to share with him the stories of my life, and my views on the world, for a while he was the only one I talked to. Day by day Uri helped me to move past my calamity as the seed he planted in my heart began to grow.

Last night that sapling had torn through my mind and soul, rooting itself into any crevasse it could find along the way. The sapling burst forth into a giant iron oak the second I had opened the door to his cramped dimension. He became a part of me within that instant so strongly that I felt I would be lost without him. I made a silent vow that no matter how weird or scary things got, I would not take for granted the hand I was dealt in life again.

_Alright, you can do it girl, just take it one step at a time!_ I took in a deep breath and turned the handle to the shower off, letting my negative thoughts run down the drain with the last of the water.

I stepped out of the shower wrapping myself in a towel. _Geeze it's steamy in here. _And started to search for the clean clothes I had brought with me but soon came to the realization that I had not brought any in. _Well just shit! _I puffed out my cheeks and stomped my foot in aggravation. _Uri's out there, he can't see me like this! What do I doooooo? Fine you know what he's just gonna have to deal with it! Yeah, this is my home anyway! _I struck a brave pose, then after realizing how stupid I looked standing there like a drenched towel clad superman, I slouched and cracked the bathroom door open. "Uri close your eyes!" I yelled into the main room.

"Wait? What, why?! The little people in your 'TV'," Uri's voice reverberated back at me mocking my tone when he said TV, "just started fighting and its hilarious! I mean really you gotta come see this, no one and I mean no one talks like this, it-"

"Uri, I don't give a rat's ass, just close your damn eyes!"

"Fine! You don't have to be so bossy about it! Damn," He huffed then grumbled a little longer.

Deeming it safe, I left the bathroom and walked towards Mr. Lumpy and my stash of clothes. When I was behind the futon, Uri let out a howl of laughter, presumably at something on the television. "Eeeeeep!" My face heated and I ducked crouching behind the futon. "Uri, by chance are your eyes still opened?"

"Umm, yeah." He replied nonchalantly.

I heard the futon creek so I looked up only to see the curious rabbit looking back at me. My face grew warmer and my eyes widened, a sound similar to that of a cat whose tail had just been stepped on escaped my throat and before I knew it, **smack!** I had slapped Uri.

"Dammit woman! What the hell did ya do that for?!" Uri's affronted tone came to me from the front of the futon where he had retreated.

_Great, now he's gonna be all butthurt. _Truthfully I felt a little guilty but my instincts told me that if Uri knew of my guilt he would hold it over me. "Didn't I tell you to close your eyes?"

"Yeah and I did." He said gruffly, sinking into the futon.

"So why were they opened?"

"You never said how long I had to close them for."

"Really?" I let my rhetorical question seep in sarcasm. "Well then let me be more specific this time, close your eyes and keep them closed!" The words rung within me and I felt a tightening at my core, almost as if the bond I held on Uri had been tugged at. _What the hell was that?!_

I was about to ask Uri about it but was distracted when he let out another annoyed huff then exasperatedly said, "Fine, whatever, they're closed."

Slowly, I got up feeling a little dizzy. I walked to my clean clothes, dug through them, and retrieved a fitted red tee and jeans. Then I made my way back to the bathroom, noticing a plate containing a rolled omelet and sautéed veggies sitting on the kitchen counter. "Uri?" I questioned softly.

"Yep?"

"You actually made breakfast?" I sounded confused even to myself.

"Yeah I said I would didn't I?" He still sounded a little pouty from my recent outburst.

"Ummmm yeah, but I didn't think you would. I mean who knew I had any unspoiled ingredients left." I picked on myself, trying to perk him up a little.

"'Tch it wasn't easy diggin through your fridge finding something worth eating or figuring out how to work that thing you call a stove." He grumbled from the futon.

"Oh, um well thanks Uri. I'll be right back." He didn't reply so I went into the bathroom to get dressed, blow dry my hair and run through my morning routine. I came out feeling a thousand times better, then snatched the plate off the counter and plopped down next to Uri. He wasn't talking to me apparently so I ignored him and took a bite of the omelet. "Oh wow Uri, I didn't know you could cook!" I exclaimed, looking at him with excitement. He was slouching, lazily sinking into my futon eyes still closed. _Hmph, stubborn much. _

"Haha very funny Uri," I said rolling my eyes, "you know your pride is making you look very childish right now with how stubborn your being."

"What are you talking about?" He grumped eyes still closed.

"You know exactly what I am talking about, don't try and play those games with me Mr.," I said, taking another bite of my omelet.

"Well you're the one who told me to keep them closed, so I can't rightly open them now can I?"

"What are you talking about, of course you can open your eyes. I only meant for you to keep them closed until I got back to the bathroom." Immediately after I said he could, his eyelids popped open and something slackened within me.

He turned his evergreen gaze to me, grinned and coyly spoke, "I guess I did forget to tell you that huh…"

"Tell me what, exactly" I asked not positive that I wanted to know.

"Well, when you give me a direct command I kinda hafta follow it."

"WHHHHAT?! Why?!" I about yelled choking down the lump of omelet that had gotten caught in my throat. Uri patted my back harshly then started to speak again.

"Hey now, chill it's not so extreme as to kill yourself over. It's the bond is all. It just makes it so that if you make a command I have to obey verbatim. You have to mean it though and I mean really mean it, also if I wanted to I could try to fight it but it's taxing and I am too lazy."

"But that would make you like my slave!"

"Eh, I've had worse things happen." He replied, shrugging one shoulder and turning back towards the TV.

"B-but, but that's soooo unethical!" I cried out, feeling insulted by my own abilities.

"Calm yourself geeze, think of it as insurance. Like if I go crazy and start killing people you would be able to stop me. Also it's not like you're the kind of person that's going to just boss me around all the time just because you can….wait, maybe I shouldn't have told you about that ability." Uri stated, stopping to think and scratch behind his ear.

I squinted my eyes at him in suspicion and stared for a moment. Uri arched a brow and asked, "What now?"

"Um, well it's just…" I looked down then glanced at him from under my fringe. He sighed heavily, turning away from the TV once again.

"Well go ahead, spit it out. And stop staring at me like that."

"You won't actually go crazy and start killing people will you? I mean I like you and all but if your just gonna go all Hannibal Lecter on me I think we are gonna have to lay down some ground rules. Also if you knew about the enslavement thing why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Uri slapped his palm to his forehead, running his hand down his face in frustration while his left ear twitched. "It was an example, not forshadowment! Don't read too much into things. And I didn't tell you sooner because I wasn't positive till you did it. Besides, you seemed too overwhelmed at the time for me to be throwing theories your way."

I harrumphed, _okay so that makes sense but still. _"You're not hiding anything else from me are you Uri?"

Uri's ears stiffened for a fraction of a second and his eyes widened, "Heh, why would I even hide anything from you, we're on the same team so it wouldn't make sense, silly. And besides- hey did you hear that?" Uri stopped mid-thought, looking in the direction of the bathroom. I listened for a while, mind wondering back to my fears of Scarlet when I heard a tiny buzzing sound. _What the, is there a swarm of angry flies in my bathroom or something….wait it sounds familiar though…what could that b-_ "Akkkk my phone!" I shouted jumping off the couch, tossing my empty plate at Uri, and running into the bathroom. I could hear the buzzing close to me but I couldn't see my phone anywhere. _Dear lord I left in in my pocket, what would I have done if I washed it again!?_ I dug into my dirty laundry bin, picking up my work pants and checking the pockets. _Yes, finally!_ I had retrieved my phone and turned it around in my hand. Cracked glass webbed across the screen looking back at me. _Well shit! I just replaced this phone too!_ The phone buzzed again, breaking me from what was to become a mental rant. I slid my finger across the cracked screen hoping I wouldn't cut myself in the process, then brought the phone up to my ear. "Hello, Ashton Chance speaking, may I ask who's calling?" I answered in a tone any customer service representative would kill for.

"Oh hi! This is The Great Kazuma Kuwabara. Mr. Yamato told me to give ya a call today, hope I didn't interrupt anything important or something like that." A kind, gravelly voice called out to me from the other line. _Hm, he sounds kinda dopey._

"No, you're not interrupting me. I am very glad you called. I wanted to set up an appointment with you so that we could study. Today and Sundays are my days off, and any day other than Thursday my mornings are free. What would work best for you?" I inquired.

"Oh, hehe. well I'm not doing anything today, do you have some free time?" He asked sounding a little shy.

"Well I suppose, I don't have anything particular planned. Where and when would you like to meet up? There is a public library not too far away from the campus and also a coffee shop with free wi-fi." Uri's head peeked around the bathroom corner, he was giving me the 'what the hell are you doing' face. I tried to shoo him away, instead he sauntered into the cramped bathroom with me, putting his head closer to the phone. I gave him the 'get the hell out!' glare trying to push him out of the bathroom with my shoulder. He wouldn't budge no matter how hard I pushed, amusement lighting his eyes.

"Ummm, How about 4? And the library seems as goo-" Kwabara's happily dumb voice was cut off.

"Akkk!" I shouted into the phone. Uri had suddenly stepped to the side and I fell from the unexpected release of force I had been pushing him with. One arm pin wheeling I made my way to the ground landing on my ass. _Fucking rabbit! _Uri was laughing jovially so I kicked him in the shin.

"Ow dammit! That was completely unnecessary!" Uri chided hopping up and down on one foot holding his affronted shin.

"Hey is everything alright?!" Kuwabara sounded worried.

"Um, yeah I am terribly sorry ab- Ow! Shit! Don't fucking step on me!" I shouted at Uri, who had hopped too close to my thigh pinching a small amount of fat and skin between his foot and the tile. I kicked Uri again and he loudly crashed into the toilet behind him. _Oh my gawd! Kuwabara totally just heard all of that! He is going to think I am such a bad person now! Nooooo Kuwabara don't think of me like that, I need to pass math!_

"Dammit woman you'll pay for that!" Uri growled springing towards me, I fended him off with my foot glaring at him while trying to conclude scheduling my appointment with Kuwabara.

"Hey do you need help?! I can be there right away, where do you live?!" Kuwabara said as if he played the knight-in-shining-armor role often. Sounds of hurried movement washing over the line. _Wow chill kid, try and save the world much?_

"Oh no, please calm down Kuwabara-san. Everything is alright, I assure you. My best friend thought it would be funny to pull a prank on me is all. I am very sorry for being so rude and making you listen to all of his nonsense. I will try and make it up to you. Now you were saying 4 would be a good time to meet?" I said swiftly with an extra dose of sweetness to try and calm the poor guy down.

"Oh, ummm well if you're sure you're okay… and yeah 4's good, the library right?" His speech slowed sounding like he didn't quite believe I wasn't in danger. _Wow, he's more paranoid than me!_

"Yes, I am positive, everything is fine. So the library at 4, I will meet you there. Have a pleasant evening Kuwabara-san, I look forward to working with you soon." Uri gave up trying to get past my foot and chose to sit on the side of my tub, giving me large sad bunny eyes. _Omg he is sooo cute! I just wanna hug him! _I mentally fan girl squealed then shook my head fighting off his charming effect. _No he caused this mess, and now Kuwabara thinks I'm some sort of freak or damsel in distress or something! I won't forgive you that easily Uri!_ I shot him another glare trying to show him that I was unaffected by his puppy eyes.

"Yeah sure, see ya there. Be careful in the meantime," Kuwabara said, happiness returning to his tenor, then the line went dead. I stood, stuffing my phone into my back pocket, still glaring at Uri. "What gives?" I huffed.

"I was just curious is all. You didn't have to attack me." He pouted, rubbing his shin one more time for good measure.

"I didn't attack you, you attacked me!" I squawked, pointing an accusatory finger in his direction.

"What?! You fell on your own!" He shouted back, standing up.

"Did not!"

"Tch all I did was move to the side a little. It's your fault you fell." He said, becoming a little puffed up from all the hot air his head was containing.

"It is not!" I defended stomping a foot on the ground.

"Ha! Do you even hear yourself? You sound like a child. You even stomped your foot, this is great." He said anger deflating into laughter.

"Uhg, you're impossible!" I fumed, exasperatedly throwing my arms up in the air, then stomping out of the room. Uri tailed me like a baby duck. "Please tell me what I did to deserve this!" I shouted at the heavens.

"Drama queen much?" Uri asked, snickering. "Hey, where are you going?"

"I'm going out, I only have a few hours before I have to meet up with Kuwabara and I wanted to get some shopping done before that." I said, taking my phone out of my pocket to double check the time. I nodded when 1:20 blinked back at me, returned my phone and started to put on my shoes.

"What ya shoppin for?" Uri asked nosily.

"Well, I need to pick up some toiletries and clothes for you. I don't think it's a good idea for you to walk around looking like you just jumped outta some time portal, also I need to get you a hat to cover up those ears…hm, maybe I should make a list." I spoke, mostly to myself.

"But I like my clothes." Uri whined.

"Yes, I'm sure you do. You're still getting new ones though, especially if you wanna leave the house anytime soon." I scolded, reaching for the handle.

"Wait, you're saying I'm trapped here?!" He whined more vigorously.

"Just until I get back with new clothes, don't get your panties in a knot. I'll be back right after I'm done meeting with Kuwabara." I reasoned, placing a hand on my hip.

"But who's gonna protect you?!" He protested, tugging on the back of my shirt.

"Um, me. I'll have you know, I have done just fine looking out for myself so far, thank you very much. Besides no one's gonna attack me, it's the middle of the day." I said, trying to get Uri off of my shirt before he caused wrinkles.

"Oh, so how you dealt with Bardock constitutes as 'just fine' now huh?"

"Don't even go there," I warned.

"And of course you're taking into consideration that you make a more 'appealing meal' now to some youkai, right?" Uri quipped, snarky grin slinking its way onto his face.

"What?! How so?" I asked starting to become irritated.

"You're more in-tune with your spirit energy now, the more spirit energy a human has the more tasty they are. Geeze, make it seem like you don't know anything why don'tcha." He mocked at me.

"Don't be such an ass! And you know what? I am still going without you, I should be back before nightfall and I will keep to well-populated areas. There, does that make you feel better?" I noticed I was starting to sound childish again; having both hands on my hips wasn't helping either. I sighed and continued in a calmer voice, "I understand that I may have a higher chance at being targeted but I really do need to run these errands. I will be careful."

"But it's still not sa-" I cut him off by opening the door.

"Goodbye, Uri. Be back in a jiffy." I said in an overly pleasant tone and walked through the door, closing it on his worried face. _Stupid mother-hen._ I could hear him loudly grumbling complaints and his views on my actions from the other side of the door. However, I just couldn't bring myself to care. Sighing, I turned to see if I had Mrs. Satou to deal with next. Sitting in the chair she normally occupied were two large tabbies and a tiny calico. _Did they eat all your food little buddy? 'Tch fatasses. _Quickly, before Mrs. Satou decided to make an appearance I jetted outta there.

I made my way to the small shopping district near my school. It wasn't too busy but enough people were running around for me to think no one would try anything weird with this many witnesses. _Do youkai even care about being witnessed?! What if they don't and I get attacked right in the middle of a crowd?! Oh my gosh, they could totally be hunting me right now! _I thought for a moment on the creeper vibe I had been feeling most of the morning then mentally tried to shake it off._ Okay, I'm becoming a paranoid freak now. Thanks a lot Uri!_ I continued on my path, choosing a relatively cheap convenience store as my first stop. Once inside I picked out all the bright green bathroom supplies and soaps I could think of for Uri. _Okay, that's it, he can't possibly need any more than this right? I mean I even got him a loofa!_

Dropping a lime green toothbrush into the blue hand basket provided by the shop, I made my way to the checkout line. As the last of my items were being rung up, the tingly 'you're being watched' feeling grew in strength. I looked around, trying to spy anything out of place. Everything seemed normal enough to me; just people minding their own business so I turned back around. The cashier smiled at me and told me, "Your total is 2088 yen, how will you be paying this evening?"

_Damn they're proud of their products._ "Debit please." I replied, sliding my card through the machine. After I took my bagged items I wished her a nice evening, and booked it, trying to shake my imaginary stalker. I spotted a large crowd of people and picked up my pace diving right in the middle of them. I pushed my way to the front of the tiny sea of people, leaving apologies in my wake and darted down an alleyway short cut I took regularly. Once in the alleyway I sprinted to its end, emerging from the other side. I slowed to a fast walk and made my way to the "Never too Late" boutique, mental tingles dissipating.

The shop bought out of season and torn or miss stitched clothing from other boutiques in the area then sold them at a much more reasonable price. It could be tiring looking though racks and racks of garbage just to find a few decent outfits but every once in a while you could find a real steal of a sale in there. I walked in through the front doors feeling giddy at losing my ominous shadow. I dug through the men's department picking out a few t-shirts, button downs, jeans, boxers, sleeveless tees, a pair of dress pants and two pairs of shoes (one for running and the other for nicer occasions). _It looks like everything should fit. Hmm, he's my height maybe even an inch taller and about my size, so some of this may be a little baggy but guys totally get away with that. Alright this should be good enough, wait I need to find a hat…_ I looked around the store for their accessories section and spotted a hat rack.

I rummaged through their unorganized selection of hats, looking for something practical that Uri could wear on a regular basis. I pushed more and more hats aside laughing at a powder blue top hat adorned with peacock feathers. _Really was the haberdasher drunk? That's great, who would wear like half of these?_ I was about to give up hope and try a different store but then I spotted a hat that screamed Uri. It was a creamy white knit beanie, the rim was about 2 in in width and had small buttercream pinstripes, and in between the yellow stripes sat a small green rabbit. _I must have it, I mean it was practically made for him!_ In my excitement I snatched it off the shelf knocking a few of the other hats to the ground. _Oops. _I smiled politely and apologized to a young woman, that shared an uncanny resemblance to a llama, who had turned to give me the 'what the hell are you doing, you threw off my groove?!' stare. For a second I was afraid I might be thrown out of the emperor's palace window. Instead she sniffed and went to look at a rack was on the opposite side of the accessories section. _Fucking bitch! How dare you look at me like that! I should go over there an- _I snapped my head to the left catching a fleeting strand of red. _Scarlet?! No, it can't be why would Scarlet be my creeper? Is she even human?! She has a similar feel as Bardock but…I don't know something's different, much different. Dammit I thought I gave you the slip too!_

I rapidly made my way to the checkout lost in thoughts about how to shake her once and for all. I barely remember being rung up or leaving the store but found myself quickly walking back towards my apartments, sticking to the clusters of people like sushi rice. _Shit, I can't ditch Kuwabara. I made an appointment, it would be too damn rude to just leave him hanging. _I grabbed my phone out of my back pocket to call him to see if we could reschedule. Looking at the black screen I pushed the button on the top, the shattered screen however remained black. _Shit! It's dead! Why world, why do you do this to me?! _I contemplated why I had such bad luck and the thought of me having committed genocide in a past life was the only thing I could reason to give me such poor karma._ Dammit all, now I really can't ditch on Kuwabara!_ I promptly turned on my heel and headed back in the direction of the public library, eerie vibe and a possible Scarlet tailing me.

I walked in through the front doors to the library and started towards the librarian's desk. A clock reading 3:56 hung on the wall behind an older woman with dark brown hair that was greying at the temples. "Hello, I am sorry to disturb you ma'am but I am supposed to meet a friend here for a study session. Has a man by the name of Kazuma Kuwabara come in yet?"

The library door opened and closed behind me, I turned to see a tall man walk in. He had a long angular face, beady yet compassionate eyes and orange hair styled into a pompadour. He walked like he was relaxed but ready to strike at the drop of a hat, and he had a large presence. It was similar to Scarlet's but less Bardocky, also the feeling he was exuding felt warmer and like home rather than tinged with the sharp edge of a predator's. I stared for a moment then remembering my manners I smiled and turned back to the librarian.

"Kuwabara? No I don't believe anyone has come in by that name. If they do I will let them know you were asking for them." The librarian stated kindly.

"Oh, thank you very much, my name is Ashton Chance, and I will-" I was cut off by the same gravelly voice I heard over the phone but a few hours ago.

"Ashton-san?" the voice asked from behind me.

I turned again to regard the large ginger I had just been staring at. _No way, he's my tutor?! He looks like he could break me in half, he also doesn't look that smart…however his voice matches him now that I think of it._ "Yes, that's me" I replied, widening my smile.

"Phew that's a load off my mind. I tried to text ya to see if you had made it yet but ya never answered back. I was afraid something might'a happened after I hung up earlier." As he spoke he exaggerated parts of his sentences with his hands giving off an over dramatic take on mine and Uri's bathroom brawl. _Maybe it sounded a lot worse than I thought. Dammit Uri, now he's never going to think I'm normal!_

I bowed low and said, "Oh my, Kazuma Kuwabara I presume?" I asked, he nodded grinning white teeth glistening. "Once again I am so sorry for that disturbance, also I would like to apologize for not texting back. You see, my phone had died, I am glad that we were able to find each other though." I stood, grinning up at him.

"Hey, now heheheh", He said smiling so hard his eyes squinted and rubbed the back of his head with one hand. "No need to be so formal. I guess I'm just a worry wart, that's what my sister says anyways." He finished, laughing nervously. _Maybe he's no good around women or something…I hope he isn't as dense as he seems or we are going to flunk so hard, and I can't afford to take this class again!_

"Well, shall we head to the desktop workstation?" I asked Kuwabara, then turned to the librarian and nodded to her, "Thank you for your help."

"Oh, you're quiet welcome, let me know if you need anything else while you're here. Have fun." She smiled back at me.

"Right, might as well get to it! I'm glad ya accepted the deal Ashe-san, ummm, can I call you that?" He asked, looking at me for confirmation. I nodded and he continued, smile renewed, "Great! Anyways like I was sayin' I'm happy you agreed to the tutoring because I really need that extra credit!" He finished. _I swear this guy's like a dog, if he had a tail it'd be waggin so hard his ass would shake._

"No worries Kuwabara-san, I too could use the extra credit. Also I hope to learn a lot from you." I said, politely smiling.

"Awww man ya ain't gatta call me that, just call me Kuwabara. Don't worry about all that san bullshit." He stated, scratching the back of his head.

"If you wish, Kuwabara-san." I said having to fight to keep my smile from becoming a mischievous grin.

"Heeyyyy!" He complained.

We reached the back of the library and started to set up for studying while continuing with polite conversation. He asked me what lesson I was on and I told him where we were at as a class. As a second thought I told him that I probably needed to start from the beginning, I didn't know why but something about this guy said he was safe. I had known him for all of half a day and I felt like I could trust him, and at the very least he wouldn't judge me. We studied for a few minutes, math books, worksheets and notes littering our table. He seemed to stumble with some of the work and he would take a few minutes to remember how to do something but other than that he was able to help me a lot. _Takes an idiot to teach an idiot. _I thought, slightly depressed. _Well, at least he's not speaking weird languages like Mr. Yamato, the fucker does it on purpose I swear. _

_Fuck!_

Startled, my head shot up. Kuwabara's presence had been so comforting that I hadn't noticed my stalker's vibe getting closer. And there she was, walking down Historical Fiction K-P, the sickeningly beautiful Scarlet. A small smile dawned her lips but she stared me down with endlessly deep green eyes; eyes that were happy to have caught their pray and seemed to dangerously whisper that she would eat me alive. Dread filled me and I froze. To my side Kuwabara looked up, noticing my discomfort His eyes widened in suprise. _Yeah I knew you were bad news! Even Kuwabara knows it bitch!_

"Scarlet" I growled, finding and grabbing onto a little courage.

At the same time Kuwabara said in a joyful tone, "Hey, Kurama wh-"

"Get out of here, she's dangerous!" I yelled at Kuwabara as I jumped out of my seat and over the table. One of our books was thrown off the workstation and papers were sent flying everywhere. I tackled Kuwabara with all my might sending us both flying out of his chair, me landing in his lap. Papers fell like snow upon us and I looked up at Kuwabara's face. He was staring at me as if I had grown 5 heads and was dancing to swan lake at a Megallica concert, or maybe Scarlet had scared him more than she had scared me. _Don't worry Kuwabara! I will save us!_ I climbed off of Kuwabara's lap spinning on Scarlet, I spread my legs and raised my fists into what I dearly hoped was a good defensive stance. She stared at us completely blank faced other than a slight widening of her eyes.

"I don't know why you've been following me but Kuwabara-san's not part of this so you should let him go peacefully! I already apologized for running into you the other day but if you still got beef with me then come at me brah!" I said in the most intimidating low rumble I could manage, glaring at her and hoping that she would back down.

Kuwabara continued to stare at me in shock, firmly planted on his ass. Scarlet's eyes widened slowly her slender eyebrows gradually crawling upwards. A dusty pink bloomed across her cheeks as she bit her lip and brought her fingers to her lips, almost as if she were trying to contain something. _Yeah! Go Ashe, she is soooo totally intimidated!_ Then she snorted. Her snort unlocked the flood gate to chuckling which soon transformed into a full on belly laugh. She bent over at the waist clutching at her sides, continuing to laugh though it seemed she was in dire need of air. I stared, then looked to Kuwabara for some sort of confirmation that this was actually happening. He looked at me then at her, and then joined her in her laughter.

_What the hell's going on here, am I on candid camera or some shit!_


	6. Never Trust a Ginger

Chapter 6

_I'm being intimidating dammit! Not a standup comedian, so stop laughing at me!_ I shot Kuwabara a disappointed look then continued to glare scarlet down, my lips starting to form a small pout. Scarlet righted herself brushing the wrinkles off her white button-down shirt where she had clutched at it and calmed herself. Kuwabara stood, snatching papers off the floor, putting them back on top of our desk and stifled his laughter as well. A couple of people made their way onto the scene looking around anxiously for what caused the commotion.

"Is everything all right", a young man asked.

"Yes everything is fine. We are sorry for disturbing everyone, my friend here got a little too invested in the scene we were practicing for theater." Scarlet offered the crowd with a polite smile that put mine to shame.

_Oh my gawd, I totally just cause a scene and in a library of all places! People are staring, and everyone's gonna think I'm crazy! What if they know my mother?! If SHE finds out about this I'm doooooomed! I'll have to leave town; I need to get home and pack my shit! If I leave now maybe she'll never find me! Yes, the ice witch will never be able to get me if I run before she even finds out! _Thoroughly panicking I started making plans then turned to face the crowd of onlookers. Most of them seemed to be appeased by Scarlet's quick lie. _How the fuck does she even come up with a lie like that on the fly!? I knew she couldn't be trusted!_

I bowed to the people I disturbed, "Oh my, yes I am very sorry, please forgive my rudeness! I was so caught up in my roll that I forgot my surroundings." From the corner of my eye I saw Kuwabara had finished picking up our workspace and was smiling scratching the back of his head looking a little embarrassed.

The crowd slowly dissipated realizing there was nothing to see. Some offered rude remarks of keep it down, which I flinched at, some laughed and others were just glad everyone was alright. As they left I came out of my bow, returned what I thought had been a damn good glare to Scarlet and spoke softly, "I thank you for controlling the situation ma'am, however I must ask why you have been following me."

"Wait, did you just call Kurama ma'am?! And who's Scarlet?" Kuwabara demanded from me then swung his head towards Scarlet. Or Kurama, _whoever the fuck she is_ and continued, "Have you really been following Asheton?! Whats goin on guys!?"

"Perhaps we should take this discussion elsewhere, I feel Chance-san would be very uncomfortable if we caused another scene here", Kurama insisted in a calm tone that held a hint of amusement.

"I'm sorry, but I do not think I will be going anywhere with you", I replied.

"Oh come on Ashe don't be like that, Kurama's one of the good guys. He won't hurt you." Kuwabara tried to reason with me. _Since when does he just call me Ashe, isn't that a little too informal for how long we have known each other? And poor Kuwabara seems to think he can trust Scar- I mean Kurama, she may have fooled you but she doesn't fool me! _ Kuwabara inched closer to Kurama, put a hand over his mouth and whispered, "She's got a bit of spirit energy. Maybe she doesn't trust ya because she can feel you're a little different. You didn't do anything to her did ya, and uhhhh… does she really think you're a chick?"

"That does seem to be the case Kuwabara and no I have not harmed Chance-san." Kurama stated looking a little exasperated.

"But you have been stalking me! Admit it!" I finished haughtily then remembered my manners, "um, please."

"Wait you've really been stalkin- eheheh I mean following her after all?" Kuwabara said disbelief shading his voice, "Dude I didn't know she was your type, and I get how it could be difficult with her thinking you're a chick an all but you really don' hafta go to such extremes. It tends to drive the ladi-." Kuwabara said to Kurama hand cupping his mouth once more.

Kurama interrupted Kuwabara trying not to appear frustrated, "Please Kuwabara, I have not been stalking her I was merely-"

"Oh so you haven't been following me then?!" I said stomping a foot on the ground.

"I admit, I have been followi-" Kurama begrudged, Kuwabara looking at him in shock.

"Ha! So you confess that you've been stalking me!" I stated proudly.

"So it is true?!" Kuwabara said dumbfounded. To which Kurama pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath in then let it out.

"Please you two just calm down, we should discuss this in a place where it is not imperative to remain quiet. Both of your voices are raising faster than I thought they would."

"Yeah that's prolly a good idea," Kuwabara agreed and started packing up our study materials.

"Wait your just going to agree with her like that senpai?" I asked giving Kuwabara puppy eyes. Kuwabara's eyes teared, a warm smile spreading across his face and he clenched a fist over his heart.

"Ashe, you called me senpai, no one's ever called me senpai before!" he exclaimed merrily, "Don't worry I'll protect you!" He then rambled on about how he was a real man and real men don't let harm come to women; there may have even been something about a mulberry tree thrown in there at some point. The speech was beautiful in a way, if it hadn't had been so chauvinistic.

Kurama however looked more exasperated than ever. _Yes, Kurama your friend is on my side now. He sees that you are evil, mwahahaha. _I grinned maliciously at Kurama while Kuwabara's rant still held his attention, Kurama however noticed my smile and shot me a 'See what you've started' look. Kuwabara finished his speech in a masculine stance, staring off into space. I swiftly turned my grin into a polite smile, "Oh my, senpai that was such a beautiful speech. I'm so glad I can count on you." I said in awe, _teheheheh_. I got this odd feeling that Kurama had just refrained from rolling her eyes so I mentally stuck my tongue out at her.

"Now that you are reassured Chance-san, we should be going." Kurama said smiling patiently then headed towards the front of the library.

"Right behind ya," Kuwabara called after him then grabbed our bags. He grinned down at me, taking my hand in his large calloused mitt. He then pulled me along after Kurama telling me in hushed tones that I shouldn't worry and I could trust them. _Nooooooooooo, Kuwabara! You traitor, how could you do this to me!? I even called you senpai! _I wailed internally trying to pry myself from his grasp to no avail. _Why is he so damn strong?! He prolly can't even tell I'm trying to get away from him… sad day. _

Kuwabara followed Kurama dragging me behind, every once in a while glancing back to give me an encouraging look. I forcibly tailed the gingers and made a mental not to ever trust a redhead again; eventually we made it to my favorite park. Said park was quickly becoming my least favorite though because it seemed that if I was going to be targeted by a demon it would be here; at least I suspected that Kurama was a demon. The sun was starting to set and I thought of Uri. _I wish you were here Uri, you would totally know what to do. _I felt a small tug from within and looked down at my core but decided to write it off as gas. Kuwabara dropped my hand and I looked up from investigating my stomach, almost running into him due to his abrupt stop.

I peeked around the carroty Elvis impersonator to see what caused the halt in our journey. The stationary Kurama turned slowly to face Kuwabara and I, setting sun filtering through the trees behind her causing it to appear as she were being swathed in a glowing gold aura. _Really now, do you have to be so dramatic about everything you do, bitch?_ Near her feet and scattered across the dirt of the trail were small bits of stone fragments shining up at us reflecting Kurama's pseudo-aura that was the last light of the dying day. Oh shite_! This bitch knows!_

I stared at Kurama in horror now worried not only for my safety but Uri's as well. Deep green eyes met my own filled with uncanny knowledge. She looked as if she knew every secret about me, every scar or blemish in my life, with that guise I wouldn't even doubt that she knew the exact count of hair on my head; I shuddered. I was caught and there was no hope of escape, all I could do was pray that Uri was better at hiding than me. I knew without a doubt that she would come for him too.

Adrenaline washed through my veins like a tsunami leaving nerves upturned and twitching as it went. I felt my muscles constrict and my fingers fidget, cold sweat beaded on my forehead; it was as if I were sitting in the electric chair with how charged everything became. _I can't just stand here, I gatta do something! Anything! Come on girl, move!_ Though I started to chant to myself to move, I could not. I was completely frozen in my own fear.

"Um, so what's all this about anyways? Why are y'all so tense? And did we really have to come out this far? This place feels kinda creepy, like I don't know… when we fought Sensui in that cave or something", Kuwabara protested looking around, resembling the last victim in a horror film.

"I believe what you are feeling Kuwabara, is the remnants of a shattered dimension. You have become more in tune with dimensions ever since your awakening during the fight with Sensui when you created your enhanced spirit sword." Kurama identified, like a supernatural encyclopedia while putting a hand to his chin.

"Ummm, okay… so why are we here? Does this have something to do with Koenma? I think he called me last night but I kinda didn't pick up", he scratched the back of his head looking guilty, "and if this is Spirit World business why'd we bring Ashe all the way out here? I mean look at her man, she's scared stiff! Let's just take her home then come back, we're not supposed to talk about this kinda stuff in front of people anyways…" Kuwabara stiffened slightly then turned to me, "Haha Ashe do ya hear him, talking 'bout dimensions and stuff. This guy plays wayyyyy too many video games, don't mind him". He laughed nervously with the façade of someone who had farted loudly on a cramped elevator but was trying to play it off like they hadn't.

"Please Kuwabara, I would not have brought her here if she hadn't had something to do with the situation. I think you will find that Spirit Word, dimensions and Yokai are not foreign subjects to her." Kurama said patiently.

"What? You know about this stuff, like really?" Kuwabara asked of me, but I could not bring myself to answer or even look at him. Every part of me was focused on Kurama and what her next move would be, adrenaline continued to build within me like a taser powering up. "Man I don't know she's really scared, you're sure she has something to do with all this?" He asked Kurama worry written on his angular face.

"Positive. Koenma has sent me to find and apprehend her and the Youkai she had broken out of this dimension last night. The destroyed dimension that has you so wound up Kuwabara was a prison cell which Spirit World Wardens are capable of breaking. This allows them to leash the imprisoned Yokai inside. Once the inmate is bonded to the warden their lives are in their warden's control. Long ago the wardens were a tool for Spirit Word to help hold some semblance of control over the Makai. They were once feared throughout the Makai and celebrated by humans who thought them to be their saviors, the wardens were a proud people, rich, powerful, and could go wherever they wished as long as they continued to 'hold the peace'. I, was even hunted by them a few times myself." Kurama stopped, musing at a memory then continued. "However, the rulers of Makai got tired of bowing to Spirit World and their wardens, so they fought and gained their freedom. They were then were sealed off from Ningenkai by the barrier Sensui had been trying to destroy. The wardens no longer being of great use to spirit world were pushed aside like tarnished tools. Now the SWW is assigned to watch over the spirit world prison, and for the most part they have become prisoners as much as the inmates themselves. It's sad, really." Kurama finished looking thoughtful.

Kuwabara stared at Kurama opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water, "Wait, what?! You're saying Ashe is a warden?! And if they're all locked up in Spirit World how'd she escape?! And she let out this ancient evil Yokai too?! Dude look at her, I'm telling ya, you got the wrong person. I can feel it! We can't just turn her over to Spirit World if their gonna lock her up!" carrot top tried to reason.

"Calm down Kuwabara, Chance-san is a human psychic. She is not a born warden, it just so happens her powers developed and behave very similarly to that of a wardens. It is rare but not impossible. There have been cases like hers before, though none have ever been able to open a dimension without some kind of guidance. It is highly unlikely that Chance-san has come into the power on her own, and for this reason Koenma just wants her brought in for questioning. He believes that she may be working for someone. You could see how, with her ability, things could get ugly in Ningenkai very quickly. Consider for a moment, mostly all the imprisoned Yokai were malicious, dangerous, a threat to humans or the three worlds; if Ashe is working for someone like Sensui or Sakyo she could go around opening cells and freeing hundreds of Yokai like the Toguro brothers or worse all over Ningenkai." Kurama explained.

My for once blank mind soaked in everything like a dehydrated sponge, my fingers and muscles still spasming from the overload of unused adrenaline. Kuwabara looked at me shocked and took a step back but then held his ground. He started to defend me again but Kurama was quickly winning him over into taking me in, where Uri and I could possibly be imprisoned for life. My mind kicked into overdrive as if the dam that held my thought had burst, sending overflowing ideas surging through me sweeping my consciousness along with them. _Prison cells? Inmates? What the hell's going on here?! I ain't workin for no one! Well, besides Keiko…and she sure as hell ain't evil! She gives free candy to kids and helps old ladies with their bags for christ's sake! And Uri, he's not an inmate! He couldn't have done anything so bad as to be imprisoned! He did have a few slip ups in his speech before though, sometimes it sounded like he was gonna say something about wardens or prison. _My mind added unhelpfully. _Still, he prolly just didn't tell me because he was scared! No, Uri isn't evil, and they can't take him away from me! I won't let them, Fuck You Kurama! You can't have me and you sure as hell can't have Uri either!_ I broke out of my trance and my eyes grew wide when I heard Kurama's next words.

"Chance-san, it will look better for you if you come with us peacefully, I hope you understand. Now then, let's be off." She rationed calmly, reaching out to grab my wrist. I pulled my arm back on instinct and she gave me a warning look.

"I apologize, but I must decline your offer once again." I said defensively.

She opened her mouth probably to remark on how stubborn I was being but was cut off by a loud war cry.

"URI KICK!" Bellowed the green rabbit Yokai as he came flying through the tree line leg stretched out in front of him, aimed right at Kurama's pretty little head. _Yes! I'm saved! Quick Uri, do a barrel roll!_ Kurama's head whipped in Uri's direction and faster than I could see she ducked. Which turned out to be very unfortunate for Kuwabara who ended up eating a Uri foot sandwich. In a whirl of green and orange they were sent tumbling into the opposite tree line. _O-M-G, I'm screwed!_

Shouts and grunts of surprise and what I imagined to be great discomfort could be heard from Kuwabara and Uri in the surrounding foliage. Kurama pulled a single red rose from her hair. _What the devil is she gonna do with that?! Romance Uri to death!?_ She gave me a 'stay where you are' look, _amazing how well she can communicate vai odd glares and glances,_ took a step toward the noise then stilled. Uri came sprinting back out onto the trail, twigs and leaves sticking out of his hair.

"I felt that you could use a little help Ashe! What's with you and this trail, I mean really girl you need to invest in self-defense classes or something if you wanna keep walking here," Uri said cocky grin in place, then charged at Kurama. Kurama raised her rose, flower transforming into a long thorn encrusted whip.

"You must be the Yokai, Chance-san released." She said looking more frightening then I had ever seen before. The look in her green eyes clearly stating she wouldn't hold back, not against Uri and she was much more ruthless than I could ever hope to understand. She would be willing to do whatever she had to get what she wanted, no matter how dirty her hands got. I understood in that moment that she really had been going easy on me the whole time, treating me as a declawed kitten rather than someone she had thought to be a threat. _She didn't think I was working with anyone, she never thought of me as a bad guy, but…but then, why is she trying so hard to capture me! _

"And the Yokai that's gonna kick your ass!" Uri shouted reaching down for his sash. _Can he do it?! Can he defeat her!?_

"Kurama look out!" Kuwabara shouted from the trees, loud footsteps and bushwhacking announcing that Kuwabara was on his way.

"Woa, hold up" Uri stated immediately stopping his charge, almost toppling over, barely avoiding the fluid swing of Kurama's whip. He then swiftly looked away from Kurama to me then back to Kurama. "Did he just call Scarlet, Kurama?! Like as in Yoko Kurama?!" He hopped to the side avoiding another elegant strike from the green eyed whore. Which pissed me off slightly. _Is everything she does so damned pretty!? Really how does one even fight while looking like they're a prima ballerina!? Bitch must practice in front of a mirror or some shit. _

"Um…yeah", I replied not completely sure about the Yoko part, and Uri gulped. _Shit, that can't be a good sign, if he can't do it I'll need to force him to run, I can't let him get hurt for me._ Kuwabara finally pushed his way back onto the trail as full of greenery as Uri, red stripes marring his jaw from where the rabbit's Zori had made impact.

"Dammit surprise attacks are cheap!" Kuwabara yelled affronted at Uri.

"So?!" Uri said continuing to dodge Kurama's whip, "It doesn't matter how you win as long as you come out on top, I ain't got no beef with cheap shots." _Ha! You tell him Uri! We can totally win if we cheat! ...how do you cheat at fighting though?_

"How can you call yourself a man!? Kurama stop, this fights mine. I'll teach him how to be a real man!" reprimanded the self-righteous ginger. To which Kurama jumped doing a back flip midair and landed a good ten feet from the fight. She held her grasp on the whip causing the whole scene to look like something from the 'Big Tent' in a circus. Then looked up with an expression that said she put up with this a lot.

"Kuwabara, this really isn't the time" She argued with her friend.

"There's always enough time to show someone the right path", Kuwabara stated raising a fist in the air from which a golden and red flaming sword sprouted into existence, sounding more and more passionate as he spoke. _Where the hell did these guys come from and why can they just pull weapons out of their asses?! And he says Uri took a cheap shot!_ Carrot top began to argue with red who was trying to reason with carrot top, neither seemed to be getting anywhere but from the looks of it Kurama was about to give up and let Kuwabara have his fight after all. My attention was drawn away from them by Uri who had held a finger to his lips in the famous "Shhhh" sign. He had somehow managed to make his way over to me without anyone including myself noticing. He then picked me up and threw me over his shoulder like a sack of flour, and booked it like I never seen anyone book it before.

Unfortunately, right before we took off like a Houston land shark they call their police K9 chasing a fat crack dealer, I let out a muffled, "Ooomph," when my abdomen slammed into Uri's toned shoulder. My noise alerting our escape to my captors.

Kurama tsked and Kuwabara yelled, "Hey get back here, you can't just run from a fight!"

"That's too bad for you bro! I know when I'm out matched and I'd rather live to fight another day! See you ladies on the flip side", Uri shouted back at them mockingly.

I looked up to glimpse them making their first steps in the chase for a split second before their images disappeared behind the trees that were blurring by and the dark hair that whipped at my face. I could barely hear it when Kuwabara shouted out, "That's it when I get my hands on you, you're so getting a lesson in Kuwabara Honor Code 101!" Uri let out a bark of a laugh above me, then more quietly started talking in hushed tones, "Ashe, this is really important. I need you to listen to me."

"We can talk later, just focus on getting us outta here", I said starting to feel motion sick from the sensory overload Uri was supplying with the speed that he ran.

"Just shut up and listen, there might not be a later." I began to cut him off, trying to tell him that we were going to make it and everything was going to be fine but he ignored me and kept talking. "Look I need you to focus on being invisible, you energy level is going crazy right now. If you try really hard you may be able to lower your energy enough so that they can't find you. Just focus, please." I did as he said and after a few seconds I felt a little colder, lonelier, similar to how I felt before meeting Uri. "Good girl that was better than I expected, now just try and keep it that way for as long as you can. Imma get you outta here, after I get you far enough away imma stall them. When I do, you need to keep running and it's extremely important that you keep focusing on being invisible."

"No Uri you have to com-"

"Listen! Dammit, we don't have time for this!" Uri exclaimed ignoring my outburst once again. The sting of tears pricked at my eyes, _don't say goodbye to me already Uri!_ I mentally sobbed as he continued, "Chances are they will probably capture me, Red's a fox Yokai, he will be able to track you by sent, I need you to do whatever you can to lose your smell. For now I will try and find some mud to drop you off by, cover yourself in it. After you get away try and use a strong perfume, something you would normally never wear. Also wear only clothes you haven't worn before. If I somehow I manage to get away I'll come find you, I can sense you through the bond. If I do get caught however, I know of a Yokai who can help you. His name is Kyouji he was imprisoned a few hours before me not too far from here, probably about ten to fifteen kilometers east of where my cell was. His statue should be shaped like a cat. Find him, he will be able to protect you, better than I ever could." Uri stopped talking, sounding depressed.

"No Uri, don't say things like that you totally defeated Bardock like it was nothing, you're the best and I won't give you up! You have to come with me!"

He interrupted me, "Ha, Bardock don't make me laugh, that fool was a mid E-class Yokai at best, that's how I beat him. The guys chasing us right now, even that human are at least A-class."

"But Kurama said that only dangerous Yokai were imprisoned!" I argued.

"Yeah too bad I was framed then, huh? Let me put it to you this way, theoretically my class is in the mid A range, however I'm what you'd call a fluke. All my ability lies in healing. I'm totally useless in a fight, I lived as long as I did because I'm good at running and even better at licking my wounds. My fighting skill and this is generous, may be at a lower C-class or high D. Shit they've almost caught up." I never in my life thought I would wish that I had been harboring a dangerous convict but there it was. I wanted Uri to be stronger because it seemed to hurt him but truly, I was happy with the way he was now. There just had to be a way for both of us to escape. My mind raced trying to come up with something, anything, to get us out of here. Suddenly we were falling. Uri went down hard pulling me off his shoulder tucking me to his chest and flipped, back facing down so he could absorb the impact. Once we crashed to the ground I was jarred from Uri's grip and rolled ahead, a tree stopping my advance. _Fuck that hurt! What happened?! Uri! _I scrambled up to see Uri tugging on a thick green vine that had woven it's self around his ankle and was quickly making its way up his calf.

"Run fool! And remember what I told you!" He hissed at me. The vine starting to pull Uri away from me into the dense growth of the park forest. I hesitated, tears once more biting at my eyes, "No, Uri!"

"Get away dammit! Run!" He shouted at me angrily as he was towed into darkness and out of my line of sight. Tears swelled in my eyes and I let out a sob as I stood and began to run not daring to look back. I sprinted through the forest looking for any sign of mud and quickly found a river bed. Then caked myself in the gooey river slime until I was positive I took like the creature from the black lagoon, and continued barreling though the vegetation. I had no idea where I could go that would be safe so I just kept running in the direction Uri had been going, hoping he had a plan.

A ran for what seemed like hours and felt as if my limbs were going to fall off and abandon me for the abuse I had put them through. My throat and lungs burned and my head swam like I had drank a gallon of 120 proof moonshine. I was about ready to just give up and faint, mud encrusted, in the forest when passing headlights shone through the trees. I burst through the last of the woods, and fell to me knees panting. After a few minutes I was able to think clearly enough to take in my surroundings, _How the fuck did I get all the way out here?!_, I noticed the dirt print I had left on the ground. _Shit, they'll know I came this way now!_ An epiphany struck me and quickly I got up and walked down the street making sure to leaving muddy foot prints and flakes of dried dirt behind me. Coming to a large street side garbage bin, I threw my shoes into it, and tossed a handful of the dried crusty bits of dirt in the direction I had been going. I rolled my pants up so they wouldn't drag on the ground and doubled back making sure not to leave a trail this time.

Then continued on in the opposite direction, worn to the bone, to the only place I could imagine going. It was probably a huge risk, and Uri might have scolded me if he were here but I couldn't think of another option. A bus ahead pulled into the stop and I ran to catch it, once boarding the driver threatened to kick me out but I told him it was an emergency. I stayed on the bus for about an hour and a half trying not to fall asleep, so I wouldn't miss my stop. The bus and I made our way across and through Mushiyori city headed towards the beginning of my nightly journey. I got off once we stopped and walked to the Yukimura Diner.

I picked up a few pebbles along the way, pocketing them. Once I reached the Diner I removed the pebbles and tossed them one at a time at Keiko's window. Looking up I prayed at the window as if it were some kind of deity, after a few minutes Keiko finally drew back her curtains. She blinked into the night seemingly dazed by sleep but when she spotted me her eyes widened and a hand flew up to her mouth in what appeared to be terror. _I must look worse than I thought._ She unlatched and shimmied her window open, "Ashe-chan is that you?"

"The one and only…", I let out sounding defeated, "I'm terribly sorry to bother you at this time of night, but I really need your help." As soon as the words left my mouth Keiko disappeared from view and not 30 seconds later her door opened.

"My God, what happened to you?! Are you okay?" She gasped looking me over then gabbed and pulled me into a tight embrace. Immediately I clung to her like she were the last life boat on the sinking Titanic and bawled me eyes out.

"They got Uri, Keiko. They took him right in front of me, and I was too weak. I couldn't stop them." I sobbed into her shoulder clinging harder and falling to my knees, she kneeled with me pulling me until I was in her lap. "I didn't even try! I could have…I should have bu- but I didn't! I'm the worst!" My wails were muffled by her warm shirt that was quickly becoming full of mud, tears and saliva.

"Hush now we'll figure everything out, it's all going to be okay. I promise I'll do whatever I can to help." She murmured in hushed tones like she were singing a lullaby and ran her hand through my grimy hair. I sat there head to toe drenched in mud and sweat on the Yukimura Diner's entrance crying into Keiko's shoulder until I just couldn't cry anymore, I had dried up.

"Come on, let's go inside, I'll make you a hot cup of tea while you take a shower. Then we can talk about how to fix this." She cooed then pulled me up and led me through the front doors, while I clung to her like the lost child I felt I had become.


	7. Lost Cat: Reward if Found

Chapter 7

Kurama's POV

"It's been five days that's almost a week Kurama, and you're telling me there is still no sign of her? This is so unlike you, I thought you said this would be easy", Keonma complained sitting at his desk.

"I admit, she is more elusive than I had expected. It is possible that in his last moments with Chance-san, the rabbit managed to teach her how to hide her spirit energy and mask her scent. If this is the case it makes her considerably astute at learning, a precarious trait if she turns out to be a foe. Kuwabara has been keeping lookout in town and Yusuke, much to Keiko's displeasure is still searching in Mushiyori. I am afraid, at this point, the wisest decision may be to call in the use of Hiei's Jagan eye. He will not be pleased however and I do not think you have anything left to offer him. May I suggest that you imply Chance-san could pose a threat to him. He would be doubtful but if the scenario were presented to him in the correct manner, it could be our best bet to pull him from Mukuro's side." I said, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. I did not wish to bring Hiei into this, dealing with an irate Yusuke was bad enough. However it seemed to be imperative that we capture Asheton; I hadn't truly thought she was working for someone but with how skilled she was at evading me had me starting to second guess the situation.

A warden that held no loyalties to spirit world could spell grave danger for human kind. Even if she wasn't working with anyone we have pushed her into a tight corner and desperate people have a tendency to act irrationally. I simply cannot take any chances, especially with my family living with the vicinity of the recent prison break. If Uri had taught her to hide herself so completely within a five minute time frame there is no telling what other plans he may have sent her upon acting out. No matter how innocent I believe her to be I simply could not afford to treat her as anything but a threat, there is too much at stake.

The memory of steely blue eyes widened in fear of me flickered across my mind, guilt nipping at my resolve. She had seen me for what I am from the moment we first met, a predator. I had been caught off guard by her sudden movements so I hadn't sidestepped her in time which caused her to barrel into my chest. Instinctively I had caught her. It was likely if I hadn't she would have gained a concussion, but I had reacted too quickly. I was thankful that no one noticed my speed which would have been suspicious at best, but a simple lie on the workings of adrenaline would have sufficed to calm the public. She regarded me in complete astonishment not comprehending what had happened, then she took in my appearance and seemed to be mystified. An attractive light blush had crept onto her cheeks and I found that her reaction to the whole scenario was so amusing that I couldn't help but laugh. I admit, my laughter may have been somewhat rude. I had prepared myself to deal with her and the responses I get from most human women, or well women in general, but she surprised me further. She had squeaked and jumped away from me almost knocking someone over in her haste. She never did realize how close she had come to the stranger, which only served to heighten my delight.

My run-in with the odd girl was quickly becoming the highlight of my drab morning, as she then began apologizing saying that she owed me. At first I had thought she was trying to guilt me into a date; using a tactic some women have attempted with me before. I had found myself slightly disappointed at her, so I had been a little more rude than necessary. I doubted she would pick up on my slights, intriguingly enough she had and tried to maintain her composure. She was quickly becoming frustrated with my unwillingness to play by her social standards. And if I were to be completely honest with myself, I had been and continue to be slightly irritated with her complete ignorance of my gender. I shouldn't be really, I am use to having words like 'girly boy' or 'queen' thrown at me and I am above being bothered by such poor attempts to distract me during combat; however no one has ever truly mistaken me for a woman before and I believe I have found the experience to be a tad insulting.

Something changed within her as I played with what I assumed to be some sort of social complex the girl held. Her energy flared with her hidden temper which attracted my attention. When I had first walked in she seemed to hold little more than average spirit energy for a human. Her energy grew to a point where she could sense my yokai, she hadn't know what she was sensing but anxiety quickly became the largest contributor to her scent. Her energy became sporadic, jumping from almost nothing to points as high as Yusuke's when I first met him. The stronger her fear became the higher her energy spiked and soon she had pinpointed me as the cause to her dread.

It had been so long since I had seen so much open terror of my doing in the eyes of a stranger, and it had been longer yet that I had felt the want to play the role of predator to such willing prey. I had had to stop myself from going after her, remembering that I had let that life go and I was complacent in my newer human ways of doing things. Guilt at all the emotional stress I had put Asheton through sank its jagged teeth into me. After I had read her full file, which I assume Koenma had sent on accident, I realized how much I had already played the villain in her life. It was because of me that Goki had been able to retrieve the Orb of Baast and in allowing him to gain the use of this item he had consumed the soul of Ashton's future husband. According to her file they would have been married seven years exactly from the date of his unexpected death, had three children and lived long peaceful lives. Instead since the boys soul had been consumed he was gone forever, Ashton would never be able to meet with him again, not even in death. Guilt dragged at me once more for almost following through with my more vulpine instincts to pursue her, it weighed on me knowing what I had caused to happen in her life. However I knew that if I were to go back I would do it all again. The reiteration of my familial priorities pushed back at my guilt, shoving it into a neat little box in the corner of my mind. Storing the emotion away brought me back to the reality of Koenma's office. _I am not at liberty to allow my more human emotions to mar my judgment during this case. If I have to I will utilize my older ways of thinking, guilt is pointless she is a threat not a person, and I need to remember this. _

"Kurama? Are you even listening to me?" Koenma inquired chewing at his Mafukan in irritation.

"Yes, of course." I swiftly rewound and played Koenma's conversation back in my head. "We could tell Hiei that there is a human girl hiding in the ningenkai with the ability to imprison him in a dimension. Hiei being Hiei, will most likely be appalled by the insinuation that we think a human could trap him and be more than willing to track her down. Though when you make this proposal be sure to choose your words wisely or the girl may not be brought to you in one piece." I offered.

"Yes but wouldn't Hiei know that a human psychic wouldn't be able to entrap a demon?! I mean out of all the human's we have come across so far with similar powers none have been able to do all the things wardens can." Koenma asked nervously.

"Well about that, I am not too sure this 'psychic' is not a descendant of your wardens. As I recall, the ability to completely hide ones presences is a warden's skill. Now to my knowledge some psychics can do this through years of training but Chance-san has managed to accomplish it very quickly. Furthermore her energy signature though definitely human, has a very wardenesque feel to it. I trust that it has always been illegal for the wardens to mate with anyone but spirit world citizens, please correct me if I am wrong." I said pushing some hair over my shoulder that was tickling my neck.

Koenma now chomping on his mafukan, most likely from nerves, replied, "It's true that wardens aren't allowed to marry outside of spirit world; however we have done an extensive background check on Asheton Chance. There are no warden's in her gene pool."

"Hopefully that background check was more extensive than the one you had done on Yusuke." I added smiling politely. Keonma however was not pleased at my reminder of his prior incompetence.

"Of course it was", Koenma spat starting to turn red and pounding a fist to his desk.

"Then might I suggest that one of Chance-san's ancestor may have been unfaithful, or that someone might have tampered with your files. Either way, I believe telling Hiei that this human does have some warden bloodline will be beneficial to getting him to track down the girl."

"It may help with Hiei but what you are suggesting is treason. If one of my wardens had done something like that I would know and they would have been sentence to death. A Warden human offspring is an even larger liability than what we are already looking at! If she shares the warden bloodline then she'd be able to run around imprisoning and freeing whoever she wanted. The SWW's bonds work two ways, their prisoners listen to them or their lives are forfeit and the wardens have to abide by the SWWs codes or their own energy kills them as well. A human however never takes these codes, and even if they did they do not use the same type of energy as wardens, they use spirit energy making the codes pointless!" Koenma fumed.

"I understand the seriousness of the situation Koenma, however let's try and keep our wits about us. Now, what I am about to say involves a lot of ifs but I think that Chance-san if not working for someone could prove to be very useful to you. You have been searching for a new spirit detective, and she seems like a smart candidate. You'd have to keep a close eye on her, and she'd need quite a bit of training but with work and incentive I think she could fill the role well enough. Let her take the warden codes after her training and make it out to be a huge deal. Whether she does or does not hold blood ties to the wardens allow her to think that she will be killed by her own power if she disobeys the codes. She is a mentally stimulated person, if she has faith that she will die then her subconscious will most likely make her feel as if she were dying should she ever try to break the codes." I stated coolly.

Keonma stared at me mouth agape, I was baffled at how his mafukan could stay in his mouth during almost any circumstance. "T-t-that may work but it seems risky, and what if she is working for someone?"

"Then I'll take care of the threat." I said small smile in place not letting my humanity get in my way. "Tell Hiei I will be seeing him soon", I finished then left Koenma dumbfounded sitting in his office. Before I closed the door behind me I heard George mummer, "Remind me to never get on Kurama's bad side."

Ashton's POV

_Grrrrr six days, it's been six fucking days and I still can't find that damn shrine!_ I walked down a busy street trying not to angrily kick at stones, it just wouldn't be lady like. The night I had arrived at Keiko's had been stressful to say the least. Once she took me in and got me calmed down I had told her that my friend Uri had been kidnapped by the Yakuza because I owed them a bunch of money. I made her promise she wouldn't tell anyone where I was not even her boyfriend, Yusuke, who she was positive could help me out. I lied saying that if anyone were to find out that they said they had locked Uri up in a secret location and he would never be found if I went against my agreement. I was sure she would tell but turns out Yusuke did a disappearing act the morning I got to Kieko's. Lucky for me, right? She has been letting me barrow her clothes, toothpaste, shampoo, body wash and perfume so I was positive I had masked my scent and seeing as I haven't spied a ginger in the last few days it must be working. The shit thing is, Keiko won't let me work. She reasoned that they may come and look for me if they knew I worked for the restaurant so it was best for me not to go anywhere I would normally. I gotta hand it ta her, she can think like a criminal when she wants.

So for about the last week I have been hiding out in Keiko's room sneaking out her window to try and find Kyouji's shrine. It has been six days now that I have gone out to search for any sign of the shrine, coming up empty handed. I had tried feeling it out like I had with Uri's but it wasn't working, for that matter I couldn't even feel Uri anymore. I was hoping it had something to do with trying to be invisible and not from something horrible happening to him. I quickly shook my head to clear that way of thinking, being depressed was not going to save him.

From what I could gather, I had pulled my energy inside me so no one could sense it. The problem was with my energy locked up I couldn't sense anything either. _Dammit this is so frustrating._ I couldn't control the scowl that came to my face so I looked down, when I could return my polite smile I looked back up. Today I was scouring sector five of my map, the last section I had marked off. If I didn't find him today I was going to have to start all over again, or assume Uri had some of his information wrong. If that was the case, I was going to have to use my energy to search out the shrine. I simply refuse to spend hours researching and adding possible sectors to my map. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want Uri's sacrifice to be in vain but I didn't want him to make the fucking sacrifice in the first place! _We shoulda gone down together Uri! At least I would know what happened to you then! _I shook my head again. _No, then I wouldn't be able to save him! Okay, just gatta find that shrine._

I walked for a few hours and had started to give up hope when I saw an old man leaving an offering at a raccoon memorial. The shrine felt dead to me, my instincts saying it was man made. _What an odd thought, what are you doing to me brain?!_ "Excuse me sir, but I am looking for an old Cat shrine my grandmother had told me about a long time ago. Do you know of where I might find it? She said it would be in this area." I spoke politely, I had asked several people throughout my hunt but none had ever heard of the shrine.

He looked up at me and smiled for what felt like for fucking ever, _great he's completely senile! _"Hmmmmmmm" he rasped scratching at the 10 foot wrinkles on his chin. "a cat shrine you say…." _What is he doing?! Is he falling asleep in between words or something?! Why is he talking so damn slow!?_

"I seem to remember," he coughed to clear his throat and I looked at him with dire anticipation. "Hmmmmmm…cat shrine…Ah! Yes there was one around here…I was a child last I saw it." I continued to stare at him trying not to bounce on the balls of my feet. _Come on old geezer you can do it, spit it out!_

"Where was it…maybe…no I don't think it was there…" _grand, imma go to prison for murder today._

"Wait, I think that ol' shrine was close to hear…actually it may be just down the street."_ You are totally my hero! I love you sooo much old dude you rock!_

"No, now that I think of it, it was a couple streets down to the left an around the bend. Or was there construction work down that way…ahhh now I remember the shrine had been taken down for the new construction about 30 years ago. Sorry to not be of much help young lady." He finished then meandered off like dying cattle. _I fucking hate you, you were never my hero! Why would you play me like that you cold hearted dusty shar-pei!_ I wanted to watch him walk down the street some more while silently insulting him but instead yelled a thank you and walked in the direction he has sent me. _Okay maybe he was just super senile and had no clue what he was talking about, hopefully the statue was not demolished, if it was, I am so beyond screwed I might as well give up everything and become a hooker! _

I went down three blocks then made a left looking for anything that could be considered 'around the bend'. After walking down the street I turned around and walked back _okaaaay, maybe I missed something._ My third time circuiting the street I gave up and stopped a middle aged lady, "I'm sorry to bother you ma'am but do you know if any construction work has been done around here about 30 years ago?"

She looked baffled for a moment then replied, "My, what an odd question. But now that you have brought it up, I believe a plaza on 32nd street was built around that time, it's just two blocks from here. Take a right at the end of this street and you should find it."

"Thank you so much!" I grinned at her, "Please have a wonderful day" then I bowed and walked off after she said goodbye. I followed her directions and was lead to a shopping plaza containing about 8 stores on its strip. I combed through the outside of the stores as swiftly as I could, probably looking to be some kind of crack head. After I made the mental link to me looking like a crack head I decided it would be better to ask around inside before someone called the police to report my sketchy behavior.

I walked into the first shop that caught my eye, business seemed to be slow in the small tobacconist, it smelled of sweet tobacco, smoke and cedar. The lights had been dimmed for ambiance and to protect the valuable tobacco leaves while slow R&B played quietly from the speaker system. "Can I help you", came a robust voice from behind a pipe display case.

"Um, yes actually. I was wondering if you know anything about a cat shrine that was around here at some time?" I asked smiling at the large potbellied man who was dressed in a mint green suit. The suit pulled tightly against his abdomen so much so that his buttons looked as if they were scarcely clinging to life.

"Ha! A cat shrine, eh? I don't see too many people comin in here for that. There may have been one at some point but I can't say that I remember… ya know what? I might be able to remember but I only sell information to customers dear." He said smugly shrugging. _What the hell, is this guy for real right now!? What do I look like? Maybe I was being sketchier outside than I thought, but still this ain't some fucking crime show!_ "Are you a customer my dear?"

"Well I suppose I could buy my father something." I replied then went to the display case. I peered down at the hand crafted pipes, spotting a price tag I gulped. "um, to be honest, would you mind if I bought the information straight out? I have ¥11,000."

"Aww well ain't that cute." He said patting the glass.

"Or I could just go ask someone else. Thank you for your time though", I clipped out starting to get a little snippy at the bastard.

"Hey now, don' be like that sugar, that'll do fine." He spoke words dripping like molasses. I swear something felt off with him but if he really did know it would save me some trouble.

"I appreciate it if you would be so kind as to tell me first. I promise I will pay you after."

He eyed me seriously then his expression broke out into a grin and he laughed, white teeth I was expecting to be yellow shinning down at me, "Ha, alright hun whatever ya say, not too many people got the guts ta be tellin ol' Grim what ta do, so I'll be respectin you're decision. There's a dog kennel on this strip abouts 5 shops down, the shrine was in the back. If I'm not mistaken, which I never am mind ya, the cat was were the kennels are now. Look, I like ya kid you got a fire in your eyes, don't be lettin it go out. If you ever need more information, on anything", he stopped to give me a knowing look, "ya come ta ol'Grim ya hear?"

"Um, right…", I said handing him my money, "Thanks and have a nice day". I bowed and left quickly shuddering. Something seemed really odd about him, like he knew too much. _Was he a yokai? I mean he kinda seemed like he could be but I couldn't feel anything. I can't wait to be rid of this fucking energy block._ I walked down the strip peering at the signs watching for the kennel. The sun was receding faster than I accounted for and I worried about being on the street after dark. _Stop being scared of walking at night it makes no sense, yokai are around all day just like people, so stop being stupid._ I chastised myself.

I found the kennel and had to stop from fist pumping the air in excitement, then walked in. I was smacked in the face by obnoxiously bright florescent lights, white tiles and the smell of wet dog, bleach and excrement. _Dear lord, did they really tear down a cat shrine for this place? I mean how fucking rude is that?! _

"Hi, how can I help you?" an angsty, peperoni faced teen droned at me as he looked through a magazine.

"Um, I lost my dog and was wondering if someone brought him in. Would you mind if I took a look?" I asked trying to sound super depressed about poor little Fido. I mean really I couldn't tell him I was here to pick up a cat, now could I?

"'Tch yeah whatev's the kennels back that way", he continued to spew monotonously at me staying firmly planted to his chair, not once looking up from his article.

"Thank you." I stated heading towards the back. _Little bitch didn't have the decency to say you're welcome! Hmph, hopefully he just stays there then! _As soon as I walked in through the doors the dogs went crazy, I walked down the row holding a hand over my mouth and nose at the smell. The dogs barked, growled and snapped at me as I went. _What the fuck is wrong with them?! I mean I am more of a cat person but seriously I have never seen dogs behave this aggressively before. _I walked up and down the row trying to feel for something, anything, but it was no use.

The only animal that seemed to have retained its wits was a greying golden retriever, who was contented with cowering in the back corner of his kennel, whimpering. I stopped to stare at the poor creature whose eyes held kindness and fright. "Don't worry, I'm sure you will find a good home", I cooed to the dog. I could almost hear his old bones creak as he got up and padded over to me. He sat down slowly when he was close and licked my hand as his tail slowly thumped behind him. I petted his muzzle trying to console him, and wondered at rescuing him from this place. _You must have been abandoned,_ I thought sourly, when I stood quickly the dog flinched. _And beaten, grrr, some people don't deserve pets!_ I was about to start a mental rant on animal rights and pet cruelty but found that my eyes kept wondering to the last cage on the right.

The dog inside seemed to be craziest of them all, it looked to be a black pit chow mix, saliva dripped from its purple tongue through opened barred teeth onto the floor. It was growling so hard it sounded as if it might choke, almost like a diesel engine that kept backfiring. I walked closer to its cage and it sprang at the fence snapping at the links. I gulped. "Now, now Fido let's just play nice okay?" I tried to reason with the beast. The beast in question did not agree with me and decided that lunging again would be the best idea. I jumped back making sure not to get close enough to the other cages in case they would jump too. Fido whom I am now renaming Cujo was charging repeatedly in a manner that was as terrifying as the fictional character born of Stephen King's mind. Slobber splattered against my cheek making me flinch and take another step back. As soon as I had the dog behind me flew at its fence as well. _Shit! If they keep this up they will break through! I don't wanna be dog chow!_

"Sit!" I tried to no avail, but got the feeling that I was being laughed at. _Akk! The first creepy clue, yes! Go spidey senses! _I waited for a while but the feeling didn't return, and the dogs were getting dangerously close to breaking free. _Okay girl, maybe I just need to feel out my surroundings. I ain't got much choice here, right!? Please Uri, if I fuck all this up don't hate me. _I reached out with my mind trying to feel for anything but nothing came. _Dammit! Okay, Uri said to be invisible right!? Maybe thinking I'm a fucking neon sign will help then. _I closed my eyes and tried to block out the dogs, picturing a bright sign.

"Dammit all, shut up!" I yelled at the dogs, who in response started throwing themselves at the fences harder. _Come'on focuuuus. _I tried once again placing my hands over my ears, I pictured a bright sign, red flooded the white light and suddenly feeling snapped into place. It was like I had been looking at the world through the eyes of a heavily sedated surgical patient for the last six days. I could feel Uri again, green light attached to my center and I could feel a dimension in front of me the one that was connected to the red light. I opened my eyes and was none too pleased to see Cujo sitting on top of the misplaced shrine. _Fuck! Why does this shit always happened to me!? And there's no shrine, how am I supposed to use it like a gate if it doesn't exist?! Even if I do what will happen to mine and Uri's connection!? Can I have more than one bond at a time?! Shit why didn't I think to ask this stuff earlier, what do I do!?_ Cujo mocked my panicked state by thrusting himself at the cage door once more, knocking down one of the hinges. _Shite, I'm totally dead, I just gatta trust Uri on this one!_ I closed my eyes again pulling my hands back up to cover my ears and reached out with my energy towards the red light. "Come on Kyouji!" I yelled at the light, "I hate to do this to you but I really need your help!"

I pushed harder putting every ounce of energy I had into reaching into the dimension. I didn't think it was going to work until I felt a small trickle of it break through. It was as if I had pushed so hard against the dimension that it had eroded enough in that small spot to allow me to enter. As soon as I passed through the dimension's thick wall, red energy grasped at me so tightly I gasped for air. Where Uri's light had been warm and felt like a caring old friend this one was violent and felt as if someone who had been drowning found you to be the only thing they could use as a floatation device.

Kyouji's energy swirled around mine swallowing it, he overwhelmed me in strength and I wanted to let go. The thought of freeing Uri was the only thing that kept me from breaking the bond before it even started and running away. Kyouji feeling my hesitation first forced his energy to mine stronger but then loosened as if apologizing. My breath came out labored and I pushed my hands harder against my head as I focused on somehow fitting the vast amount of his energy through the dainty hole I had created.

I merged our energies together until I felt I was becoming the red light, much as what happened with Uri. Somehow I managed to keep Uri's link separate, I didn't know if I could mesh the two but wanted nothing more in that moment to not find out. After I was sure the red light was entwined within me so much so that I could no longer clearly tell it apart from myself I began to pull back, holding onto the bond tightly as I could. Our energies slowly poured out from the dimension like old honey drizzling out of a bear shaped bottle. I heard Cujo crash into the fence again but this time the clatter of the gate colliding with the ground followed. Panicking a yanked hard at the bond and the red light seemed as if it were going to tear in half, pain flared through my core and I could feel Kyouji's pain at the strain of the bond as well. Luckily instead of tearing myself and Kyouji apart the the lid to the honey bear burst off due to the force at wich it was being squeezed. Our energies gushed forward onto the other side. I fell to the ground grabbing at my chest where it felt a giant redwood had taken root almost exactly like Uri's iron oak. The redwood however felt wild, hurt, lonely and most of all full of hate where the iron oak was full of nothing but protection and love. A deafening boom rang through the kennel as the rear wall to Cujo's cage imploded, the ground shattered under the rampaging dog and the cages, dogs included were blown outwards.

I looked up squinting through the cloud of concrete dust, hand still clenched to my chest. As the debris cleared a tall lithe figure rose. _Did he literally just come in like a wrecking ball?!_

Crystalline blue irises incasing silted pupils peered at me observing. Hair as white as empty canvas fluffed and curled out around high appled cheekbones, the lines of his face elegantly sweeping down to meet a proud jawline. His angular chin which was held high and a straight proud nose combined with his upheld yet lax posture created a masterpiece of haughty imagery. Movement drew my eyes up to the top of his head where a pair of dark sepia cat ears twitched. I lowered my gaze when he tossed a thick white braid of hair behind him, two golden bells tinkling at the movement. His tail sharing the color of his ears flicked in annoyance. He took a step forward white baggy pants held up by a blue sash billowing behind him. "I hope that having your mouth hang as opened as a bar wench's legs is not a habit for you, it almost looks like you're inviting me in. Well, shall I show you what you get when you are obviously begging so nicely?" he sneered proudly, thin almond eyes closing to nearly slits as he smiled.

I snapped my mouth closed and my face felt like it had spontaneously combusted at his words. _What da faq did he just say to me?! Grrrr what was Uri thinking?! Imma kill this dick! No, what I shoulda done was accept his offer then bit it off! Woulda served him right too! _"Excuse me sir but I will have you know that I am not that ty-" I was cut off by a sound to my left. The dogs appeared to have regained their wits, wrath recharged and directed at us. Low snarls sounded up from all around me and as soon as most were on their feet they leapt teeth flashing.

A feral laugh started up beside me and I looked at Kyouji just in time to see him pull out a red ball of yarn. _What the hells he gonna_, before I could even finish my thought the red yarn was everywhere, it was thrown about the room and over the dogs, it seemed the only place it wasn't was on me. _How did he!?_ The yarn yank taught, cleanly slicing through everything it touched: fence, steel, concrete, brick, fur, flesh, organ and bone. I could hear nothing but splattering blood and arrogant chuckling while my mind reeled at the carnage. I stared in horror still as a shrine, sanguine rain drenching me, while pieces of muscle, fat, fur and entrails pelted me like hail. The white walls had been painted red like the roses in Alice and Wonderland. Eyes darting taking in the slaughter, I was able to comprehend what it was like to sit at the bottom of a meat grinder. I put a crimson drenched hand to my mouth and looked up at my new ward. He stood there pristine as snow looking prouder than ever. I promptly turned to the side and wretched.


	8. The Child of Misfortune

Chapter 8

Sitting in gore I threw up everything I had eaten in the last 10 years then dry heaved till my throat was raw.

"I despise k9's", Kyouji said yawning then I heard him shift closer to me, "Come on now stop that, we should be leaving. I tire of this place."

I looked up at him tears starting form, "H-how could you do that?" I pleaded with him.

He rolled his eyes then explained, "Please, they would have eaten you alive if I hadn't besides, you have no idea how long I have been waiting to do that. I thank you for supplying me with the opportunity though."

"B-b-but you didn't have to kill them, at least not like that…" I stammered tears falling.

He sighed and rubbed his forehead, "great, I got a baby warden. I waited all this time and when someone finally comes they're fresh off their codes, who has never seen a real fight before. Have you even ever seen anything die?" I jerkily shook my head at his question, then he started again, signing exasperatedly. "Honestly, do you think they even felt that, it was more humane than it looks…wait?" He stopped and sniffed at me nose scrunched. "Ohhhh this is too good, you're human." He laughed genuinely for the first time since his release. "I hadn't notice before, the scent of dog was burning my nose, but this should work out nicely", he purred to himself flicking his tail. "Either way I need to get you out of here, we've made a lot of noise and I am surprised no one has come to look yet."

_He's right_, my brain whispered through my shock, self-preservation starting to kick in over remorse. I looked down at myself and wiped at a few pieces of dog that were sticking to me, the chunks splatted to the ground like dropped pudding. I held back a cringe, _now's not the time to be squeamish,_ I reminded myself. I looked back up to Kyouji controlling my features as best I could and said, "I don't think promenading around town looking like I just walked off a firing squad line in Auschwitz is the best choice right now. How are we supposed to get out of here like this?"

"Is stating the obvious one of your many talents as well?" he asked putting a hand on his hip. I narrowed my eyes in a glare and he chuckled. "Now, now there's no since in getting your tail in a knot. There's a washroom over there", he went on, nodding to a corner behind me. "They are _supposed_ to wash the dogs once every two weeks, there has to be a drain and hose in that room at least. If you ask me I did those mutts a good deed with how poorly they were being treated. Besides most had gone mad from spending so much time near my presence anyway. They could have never been released back into society. Amazing how dogs can sense the dimensions when humans can't, does that make them greater than your kind? No I think not, I would chose a humans life over a dogs any day."

I got the feeling he was making excuses for my sake and not his own. _You would have killed them if they were the best dogs in the world, don't think I'm so naive as to believe you put them down for the good of all._ I stood slowly on legs shaky as a fawns and walked towards the washroom. My foot tangled in what looked to be the intestinal track to a golden retriever. I fell, face almost burying into the opened carcass of the dog but was stopped inches from the coagulating flesh. I gagged at the stench of its split stomach.

"That would have been unpleasant for you", Kyouji teased holding onto the nape of my shirt. "Can you walk the rest of the way or shall I carry you like the kitten you seem to be?"

I continued to stare at the decimated ancient retriever, the only dog who had shown any sign of kindness to me in this hell hole, and began to cry, retreating to the safety of my mind. I_'m so sorry, I wanted to save you, I really did! I would have taken you home and shown you the love you deserved. Please forgive me, I didn't mean for you to end up this way… _I was somewhat aware of Kyouji's deep sigh, as he lifted me further off the ground by the back of my shirt. Slouching into the taught fabric I willed my eyes to dry as he carried me into the washroom.

He set me down on a cold countertop so that he could turn on the showerhead. Then let it run, periodically sticking his wrist under the flow of water. After removing his wrist from the flow he stood then strode back towards me. He looked me over seemingly displeased with what he saw. "There is so much you need to learn kitten", he said softy brushing a sticky strand of hair out of my face, his fingers now stained red. He tsked at the drying blood then stated, "You will need to become less fragile, I'm afraid it won't be an easy lesson. But I can't have you breaking down like this shall we be faced with a crucial fight." I sat in a stupor wanting to argue with him but not being able to find the energy to do so, and besides he was right. If I had kept my cool when facing Kurama then perhaps I would have been able to think of a plan to have had saved Uri.

Kyouji pulled off his long sleeved white and light blue jacket that was pattered with two koi fish. Then followed suit with the sleeveless blue shirt underneath putting them on the countertop opposite me. I was surprised to see how many deep scars marked his torso and arms. He sighed deeply then started to remove my shirt that clung to me like wet crepe paper, gently pulling it over my head. My hair slunk in gooey clumps back onto my bare shoulders as he tossed my shirt onto the floor. I shivered at coolness of the washroom and morbidly wondered at how warm the fresh blood had been. Kyouji reached to unbutton my jeans, I looked up at him from my exhausted state and lethargically pushed at his hand. _What are you doing?_ I complained from my mind having trouble putting together thoughts. _I'm so tired… _Understanding the gesture and my expression he calmly stated, "Do not worry kitten, I will not take advantage of you. You simply seem unable to perform the task yourself. If it makes you more comfortable I will not remove your small clothes."

I let my hand fall to the side in acceptance not being able to stop him at this point and understanding our need to be out of here. He continued to undress me and true to his word he left my undergarments where they were. He lifted me off the sink and sat me down above the drain on the chilled tile floor, I contemplated how he didn't let any part of me touch his clean clothing or hair. _Guess that's why he took his shirt off then…_ He adjusted the shower head on a hook so that warm water cascaded down onto my head. I stared at the red rivers that washed over my body making their way to swirling around the drain. Confident fingers messaged my scalp and I tried not to fall asleep as Kyouji unknowingly explored my weakness to head rubs.

The next thing I knew I was wrapped up in Kyouji's jacket like a dress with how long it was on me and he was tying a piece of red yarn around my middle to keep the jacket closed. I jerked away from the yarn. "Calm yourself, it won't cut you unless I command it to with my yokai." Kyouji chided.

"What happened?" I asked taking in my surroundings. We were still in the washroom and Kyouji was now wearing his blue shirt. _I must not have been out very long, why do I feel so rejuvenated then?_

"It seems that your fondness of massages, your emotional exhaustion combine with expending so much energy at once had you passing out in my arms like a newborn babe. It was quite cute really, but we don't have the time for this so I shared some of my energy with you." He explained grabbing my wrist and pulling me up with him as he stood.

"That's why I don't feel tired anymore? I mean after I bonded Uri I passed out for hours."

"Did you say Uri?" Kyouji growled. I took a step back at the glower on his face.

"Yes, he's the one who told me to come find you, we must rescue him!" I exclaimed with renewed spirit.

"And what makes you think I want to waste time saving that rat?"

"He's a rabbit!" I said stomping my foot.

"I was speaking figuratively not literally kitten." Kyouji said rolling his eyes. "We will speak of this later for now we must go." He took hold of me, picking me up cradling my head to his chest.

"Put me down! I can walk on my own," my yell was muffled.

"I am sure that you can, however I do not think it wise for you to see that room again. There will be a time when I will make you look so that you can acquire the ability to steel your stomach against such things, but it is not now. I don't think you could handle learning that particular lesson today." He replied snootily.

I went to argue with him to tell him I could handle it, or that I would never need to learn how to deal with all that gore but something told me he was right. I needed to step up and grow a pair. I heard the door open and close as he carried me, I figured we walked through the room but could not be sure because his footsteps were as silent as…well, a cats. I looked up when I heard the second door close behind us and tapped on Kyouji's shoulder. He dropped me unceremoniously, coincidentally I landed on my ass.

"Ow!" I complained glaring up at him. He smiled then put a finger to his lips and pointed at the teen running the counter. Pepperoni face was still busy with his magazine but was now wearing an expensive looking pair of Beets, the kind that block out all other sound but music. _What a horrible employee, like he really didn't notice any of that?! Well, at least he never saw my face. _"Don't kill him!" I hissed at Kyouji while standing up.

He arched an eyebrow, slightly tilting his head to the side at me and said, "Why would I?" as if the act were above him. I gaped, _because you killed everything else we came into contact with maybe! _I was about to open my mouth to argue with him but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the kennel, the teen completely ignorant of our departure.

City lights shone brightly against the vast night sky reminding me of the dangers the outside world offered. _Shit! I totally forgot to hide my energy! I hope it's not too late! _I swiftly willed my energy back inside, focusing on being invisible. The loneliness of not being able to feel my bonds washed over me, causing vulnerability and paranoia to settle in where protection and confidence stood before. _I hate this, I wish I didn't have to hide my energy this way, it makes me feel so naked. _

Kyouji snatched up my wrist roughly, twisting my skin. "ow!" I hissed.

"Sorry, you startled me for a second there. You're human so I didn't know you would be able to mask your spirit energy completely." His hold on my wrist loosened as he leaned in towards me, his nose coming within centimeters of my own. My eyes widened at the closeness and I started to lurch back but a large slender fingered hand firmly placed on my shoulder stilled me. He gazed into my eyes inquisitively, careened his neck to the side as he brought himself forward rubbing his cheek against mine. I felt my hair be pushed aside as he ruffled it with his nose before I heard him sniff at me again.

"Gah! What are you doing?!" I exclaimed leaping backwards breaking his grasp. I looked up at him furrowing my brow in half confusion, half incredulity as I fervently rubbed at my cheek.

He regarded me amusement clear on his face as he straightened, he grinned crookedly sharp bicuspid flashing dangerously. "You're so pleasant to rile, kitten, your reactions leave nothing to be desired. For now calm yourself, I was only checking your scent." He stated as he began to walk down the road.

"You were what?!" I asked scrambling to catch up, having to jog to keep up with his long stride.

He rolled his eyes at me, "Don't make me repeat myself. I was merely inspecting whether or not you are truly human."

"Of course I am, don't be ridiculous."

"Well then, it's odd that you can hide your energy so well. You're completely undetectable, a warden's trait last I checked."

"Yeah, well Kurama was talking about wardens and said I was like them but he told me I was human so-"

"Kurama? Poor little kitten, what have you gotten us into?" he asked seeming to be frustrated by the news as he continued his pace.

"Nothing! I didn't do anything, she is just crazy, I swear! And crazy or not she took Uri so we have to go and get him back! Like right now!" I fretted. I didn't know what it was about the Yokai I bonded but it was almost impossible to be civil around them.

"She? Good, maybe it's someone else then. And as for Uri, he can stay where he is. I do not feel it necessary to rescue him." He sniffed haughtily stride lengthening.

"What, Whyyyy?! We have to, it's the whole reason I got you out of there!" I replied now running to keep up with him. _Why do his legs have to be so long!?_

"Because kitten, he is the reason I was captured in the first place. The little snitch gave up my location to try and save himself, it appears that his plan backfired however. Serves him right. Oh come now, don't look at me like that, you couldn't have thought your precious bunny to be innocent now, could you? Though that would explain why your bond felt so sweet." I gawked at him then tripped on a piece of sidewalk that was higher than the rest. He grabbed my forearm stopping my decent, "At least watch were you're going, you should understand your own inelegance."

"I am not! And how would you know, we just met!" I shouted affronted.

"And in that time you have tried to kiss the ground at least thrice." I glared at his back as he walked away then yelled in his direction.

"You know what fine! Go do whatever but I'm going to save Uri with or without you! Also my names Asheton not kitten!" I clenched my fists then started to walk down a different street, not sure where I was going but knowing that I no longer felt like sharing the same air as him. Making it half way down the road I stopped before turning around to look behind me. Kyouji silently followed in my footsteps, eyes narrowed in a scowl, ears flattened and tail flicking.

"Fine, we shall do things your way. Where did this Kurama take Uri?" he asked walking up beside me, arms crossed against his tone chest.

A smile broke across my face and I tackled Kyouji in a hug. "Oh my gawsh! Thank you so much! I think she said she was taking him to a place called Spirit World, I was kinda hoping you would know how to get there though…also if we are going to be walking around out in the open like this, is there a way you can hide your…well, felineness?" I asked hoping it wasn't too rude.

He sighed again, ears returning to their upright position as he pried me off of him, "I don't seem to have much of a choice now do I, someone has to make sure you don't run off and get yourself killed." He rubbed his forehead in what appeared to be deep thought and continued, "So, what you are telling me is that you want to break _into_ Spirit World? You realize that if you wanted to get to spirit world so badly you could have just gone with this pseudo-Kurama in the first place."

My mouth fell open, _He's totally right! Wait no, then it would be harder to get us outta there! _"Yeah but then how would I have gotten us out?"

"How is it any different than getting us out now, if we are able to gain access into Spirit Word that is? It will only be more difficult with an extra person." I stared at him in awe, _why don't I think of these things till it's too late!?_ "Come kitten let us travel as we strategize. I get the feeling we should be moving." He began to walk dragging me along with him.

"Where are we going?"

"I am not yet sure", I looked up at him and was dazed to see his cat ears missing. I looked for his tail but it was gone as well, upon closer inspection by streetlight his white hair had turned to a corn silk blond and I would bet if I looked, his teeth would resemble that of a humans.

"How'd you do that?!" I exclaimed from his side.

"How did you hide your presence? Like you I have many talents as well." He explained absentmindedly.

"Really like what?" I asked becoming curious about my new ward.

"Hm, I have a few tricks along with all the heightened senses and physical abilities that come with being a yokai. One of my skills is control over Lachises's Thread, I was born with my more obvious aptitude. It came with my heritage, though I believe myself to be the last surviving member of the western Un Clan, a clan of ca-"

"Wait, Lachises?! And Un as in luck?" I asked interrupting him. I pondered at how fitting it was for his weapon to be named after the middle sister of the three Fates from Greek mythology. It had been Lachises who was tasked with measuring out each man's string of fate, deciding at when they would die. While the eldest sister, Clotho, spun and the youngest, Atropos, cut.

He glared at me, huffed then continued, "Yes as in luck. Now kitten, please do not interrupt me again. If you do, I will assume you are asking to be punished." _sadist! _"As I was saying, the Un were a clan of cat yokai with a knack for luck. They are believed to be the cause of all the human's silly superstitions revolving around cats. The members of my clan brought good fortune to those they favored, so they were often hired by nobles to live in their estates, had offerings brought to them and were greatly sought after."

"So you are like super lucky or something! That's awesome! We will be able to get Uri out of there for sure then!" I shouted excitedly jumping up and down a few times. "Ow!" I cried out at sudden pain that radiated from the tip of my ear where Kyouji had pinched me.

"What did I tell you about interruptions?" he chided wagging his finger in front of my face.

"But I-" I was cut off as the finger was shoved against my lips.

"And no, I am not lucky. Unfortunately destiny had been cruel the day I was born. I was the last son birthed to the Maneki family, one of the oldest families of the Un clan. I was expected to be an unparalleled prodigy being the boon of perfect breeding and born as the seventh son to the seventh son. My birth was to be one of the greatest omens my family had ever seen and I was to have boundless power even in childhood and rule over the clan. Instead I was born with an unexpected ability. No matter how hard the members of my clan tried to get me to produce good fortune I could not, it aggravated my father to no end. As far as anyone could tell I had no luck at all, I was bullied and ridiculed as a child as the outcome. One day a group of my bullies went a little too far but none had expected that I could wield bad luck as a weapon. They died in a horrible freak accident. A bird had dropped out of the sky from sudden heart failure and was struck by a cart that had gotten away from a visiting merchant on a steep slope in town. When the cart hit the bird its axel snapped clean in half due to what we found out later to be a manufacturing flaw. The cart veered to the left just barely missing the girl I had had been smitten with at the time and collided into a vegetable stand. The stand was flung back into another venders stall commencing a domino effect. The stalls continued to crash into one another till there was only one left. The last stall belonged to a vender whom was selling kitchen knives to house wives, it was struck like the rest. The stand went down and three clip point chef blades flew into the air; they plummeted back to the earth stabbing directly into the hearts of my three bullies. Miraculously no one else but the bird was harmed." He finished with a comprehensive air.

I gaped up at him not exactly sure as to how I felt about his story as he continued to tug me along. I was sympathetic towards him knowing what it was like having a rough childhood, though his made mine sound like gumdrops and rainbows. I could only imagine what he had to deal with, and how many deaths he caused not necessarily wishing his attackers harm. I wondered if he had any friends growing up, or anyone to talk to, it seemed like people would be too afraid to get close to him.

I found myself creating melodramatic scenarios of his life. Making him out to be an antisocial yet grand hero who had been mistreated and misunderstood throughout all of his years but continued to keep his heart of gold safe, hidden under his aloof exterior. _I'm so sorry I wrongly judged you Kyouji! I won't be like your tribal elders or you parents who threw you away! I'll protect you from now on! You can count on me, if you need me I'm there! _I thought whipping a fake tear from my eye and sniffling for good measure.

One thing was bugging me though and I couldn't figure out what. I thought as we walked through the city, Kyouji still leading the way. _Oh that's right! Uri._ "Um, Kyouji…your story was beautifully tragic but I had a question if you don't mind."

He glanced at me his look saying 'Of course, everything I do is amazing, but what the hell is your problem?' _Man I gatta figure out where these people learn to say whole sentences with a glance I swear it would be sooooo useful!_ "Fine, ask if you must."

"I know you don't really like Uri which I am sure is just one big misunderstanding, but where did you two meet?"

He sighed, "I assure you he did it on purpose, and I had hired him."

"What, why?" I asked not seeing that coming.

"I needed to train and I needed to do it quickly. Uri's healing ability allowed me to train continuously, not needing to stop from exhaustion or to naturally heal. I was able to fight yokai that were one to two classes stronger than me, since I would not stay wounded. Training this way permitted me to climb in strength rather swiftly. You now hold power over the rabbit and once we get him back I suggest you use this method as well." He finished sounding uninterested.

"I don't know it sounds kinda extreme, why were you trying so hard anyway?" I said biting a thumb nail contemplating how tiring it would be to train so aggressively.

"It was, and that damn rabbit cost me a fortune too. Let's just say I did it to prepare for a particular battle." He added vaguely.

He picked up the pace suddenly and darted in a different direction, almost yanking my arm off in the process. He loped as I was forced to flat out sprint to keep up with him just enough to avoid literally being dragged. I yelled out to him over the sound of rushing wind, "Why were you imprisoned?!"

He answered with a single word in a frigid tone not bothering to look back at me, "Genocide."

My mouth fell opened as I gawped at him, my brain trying to register that solitary noun. _Genocide?! Fucking genocide! What the hell Uri, what were you thinking sending me to free fucking Hitler! I take it all back Kyouji, you're not misunderstood you're just freakin' insane! I am totally judging you!_ I went to ask him what in the hell made him think he was so fucking awesome that had the right to take so many lives, instead I tripped. _Akkkk!_

"Dammit," Kyouji gritted out, pulling me like a small child by an arm up to his chest. He picked up his pace once again this time moving faster than was humanly possible. "Shit, they've almost caught up to us now." _Hold up! I thought we were running to something, preferably a means to get to Uri, not away from someone! This is important information, dick! _

"Listen, I want you to remove your spirit block. They know where we are so it is more important that you can feel what's going on, it will help you to survive." He said quickly. _Has Kurama found me at last?!_

"How can you be sure it's Kurama?!"

"It's not, at least from what I can tell the energy signature does not belong to a female."

"Well then maybe they aren't chasing us and it would draw Kurama in if I let down my guard!" I tried to reason.

"Believe me, whoever it is, is after you. Feel for yourself, tell me if it's your girl." He egged me on.

"Fine!" I snapped, "But it's your fault if this only digs our hole deeper!"

He rolled his eyes at me still moving at top speed, which I though was unwise. What if that move made us trip or something? I shook my head trying to clear it of all snarky thoughts and focused on lighting up like sign. The trick seemed to work before so I rationalized that it would work again. I tried and failed then tried again.

"What's takin so long? Are you really so weak that you can't even tap into your own power? 'tch, how pathetic." He said snorting.

_Fuck you, I am trying!_ I focused again more passionately this time, ire with Kyouji filling me. The light on the sign flared to life with white, green and red lettering spelling out the words 'Fuck You'.

"Ha, good girl. You just needed the right motivation. Honestly I didn't quiet peg you for the berserker type, kitten, but it seems you use anger like a trigger." Kyouji said with excitement that was tainted by a thin film of fear. _Anger? But I haven't used anger before…no wait, I was angry. I was angry at Bardock when I freed Uri, and I had been angry with the dogs as well. What does that mean?! Am I a horrible person?! Mom will never forgive!_

Relief of being able to feel my bonds again swept over me brushing the worries over my speculative anger management issues aside. Just as swiftly my newfound relief was driven away by what felt to be a rampant hurricane of fiery energy. My eyes widened at its astonishing might till I thought they might pop out of my head and I started to tremble. Hurdling towards us was more energy than I had ever felt and from what I could tell it was all coming from one being. There was so much of it, and every ounce was densely pure. If Kyouji had not been holding me I would have probably been blown away by the pressure of it alone. It felt like I was standing in the middle of a meteor shower or a volcanic eruption. The energy itself was hot as magma but more treacherous, for molten rock had no purpose it just flowed where gravity told it to. Instead this energy was filled with more resolution than all three hundred Spartans combined during the battle of Thermopylae. I choked on my fear, finding it as impossible to breathe as if the sky really had been filled with ash. _It's not fair! Why can it move so quickly?! _My mind threw monstrous images at my consciousness of what could be chasing us.

"Hey now, calm down, losing your head over this will get us both killed and Uri too. You want that?!" Kyouji said shaking me, worried over my reaction.

It took me a moment before his words plodded through the sludge of my fear. "No!" I cried out, clenching Kyouji's shirt in my fist.

"Good, then I need you to focus, from your reaction I presume this is not the same yokai you have faced before."

"No! Not even close, this feels 10,000 times more malicious!"

"He's a lot faster than me so we might as well find a good place to make a stand", Kyouji said resigned.

"What no?! We gatta keep running!"

"Ha, don't mistake me for that crude rabbit. If it is death that has come to claim me than I shall face it head on." He stated proudly.

"What that's insane! Then let me down so I can run!"

"You have a better chance staying with me, do not think he would come after me before catching you." I gaped at the damned Siamese, his arrogance in this situation baffling me.

"But it's so strong how can you hope to beet it!?"

"I don't, I hope that misfortune will find him. Besides he's only a class or class and a half above me."

"Oh yeah and what would that be?!" I shouted fear swaying just enough for me to feel rage at Kyouji.

"He's an A class, a high A but still an A."

"No way, but Uri said Kurama and Kuwabara were A classes too and they didn't feel like this!" I stated not believing Kyouji.

"Yeah, well this guy seems to like throwing his weight around." Kyouji finished darting into a large dead ended alleyway, not caring to question who Kuwabara was. _No we're trapped?!_ I screamed in my mind.

Kyouji sensing my hysteria stated, "We are not caged in, I chose this place. Just sit over here and try to be a good little kitten. If it comes to a fight I want you to watch closely and try to get as much out of it as you can. If I catch you looking away even once I will stop mid battle to punish you! So be good!" He scolded, placing me atop a crate at the back of the dark path.

I stared at him like he had gone mad, _Fuck that he was crazy from the get-go!_ I went to argue with him, freezing in place when I felt the colossal yokai's presence leap. My mind reeled as it register the petrifying beast close the distance of half a kilometer in 3 seconds. Then dove from the rooftops, plummeting to block the entrance of our alleyway more rapidly than my eyes dared hope keep up.

My breath came out in panicked gulps, Kyouji shot me a scowl for what I assumed to be ruining his esteem, then turned. I tried to control my breathing so that I could use the tactic of a blowfish and puff-up, though I suppose it would help if I too had poisonous spines. I looked for the yokai that was causing me to feel as if I were being continuously bombarded by the shockwave created by a larger meteor strike. I couldn't see it. I looked everywhere but just couldn't find it, my slowly ebbing panic starting to skyrocket once more. _It's invisible! That's not even fair! This can't be! Why world, why do you ALWAYS do this to me!_ I screamed in my mind trying to retain a calloused composure on the outside. _Like a blowfish! Be like a fucking blowfish!_ My thoughts recited repeatedly.

My eyes continued to dart around, searching for any sign of movement, my fist clenched fingernails digging into my skin. Blood began to pool in my palm and trickle down my fingers when a gruff masculine voice echoed off the alley walls. The sound was animalistically attractive.

"_You're_ who Kurama couldn't track down? Hn, the fox has become pathetic." He sneered.

My steely blue eyes darted toward the source of the dark tone, where they clashed with garnet. I drank in his appearance my core shouting at me to be frightened. My whole body, mind and spirit, hell everything bellowed at me to be afraid. I stilled before I began to tremble once more. I couldn't hold it in any longer I had to let it out and knowing full well it might be the death of me I hooted, "Oh my gawd, your head looks like a friggen pinecone! Ha! Pinecone head!" I then proceeded to laugh using every muscle in my body to do so. My legs kicked wildly, and I grasped at my aching ribs chortling till I could barely breathe. I fell off the crate knocking it to its side while I landed on the ground rolling. Somewhere in my mind I registered Kyouji groan as he roughly scrubbed at his forehead through my glee.


	9. Enraged Pinecons and Propositions

Chapter 9

Hiei's POV

I had returned to Murkuro's castle after a long patrol where she informed me that Keonma was in need of my assistance. The news hadn't surprise me, the incompetent ruler was always in need of aid to clean up his messes. I had denied the request outright but Mukuro assured me that I would want to hear what Koenma had to say. I conceded to hear Koenma out and found it arrogant of him to have already set up a portal to Spirit World for me. Muruko had been amused at my ire towards the toddler and I left her with an icy glare.

Once in Spirit World Koenma debriefed me on his new case. I laughed at his audacity, then threatened that if he ever tried to bother me again with such an insignificant task he would have more to worry about than some human child running loose in ningenkai. As I was leaving he quickly yelled out that _I_ should be careful. I turned giving him a dangerous smirk, to threaten me, the ruler had more nerve than I gave him credit for. His eyes had widened to disks before he stammered out that the human woman was targeting me, and she had the ability to imprison yokai in a bleak dimension forever. I quietly listened to the rest he had to say then agreed to track this girl down mentioning that no human could trap me but she needed to learn her place. I was not about to allow anyone to paint me as their target and get away with it. I had left his office, then traveled to ningenkai using another portal.

Once in ningenkai I used the Jagan to search the city for her mental print. I had found her within the hour and like Koenma had warned she held no trace of spirit energy, I then headed north leaping along the rooftops. The signature of a cat yokai was with her, which was unexpected. Koenma had said they already captured her minion and she should be alone, I discarded the idea of a good fight however, it would be unlikely with its measly class.

I was quickly gaining on them, as I grew closer the girl suddenly released her energy. Her thoughts flipped from irritation to horror as soon as she registered my presence. Soon they stopped much to the girl's disgust, her mind screamed for them to keep moving, I found dark enjoyment at being the thing she now feared most in the world. _This is what happens to those that are foolish enough to target me._ She deserved every ounce of fear she was receiving, she would learn how to control her ambition.

Having had caught up to them I dropped into the front of the alleyway blocking any escape the girl may attempt, the cat seemed willing to fight but I was uninterested in him. I scrutinized the girl who sat atop a pile of crates shaking like a child. Her eyes darted wildly, looking for what she believed to be a giant. I wanted to laugh at her ridiculous thoughts. The way her mind compared my energy to some natural catastrophe, her disdain for her partner, her terror of me and her desperation to puff up and give the impression that she were more dangerous, like some sort of absurd sea creature. Her mind worked in a frantic unorganized manner, the way she brought ideas together and jumped from one conclusion to the next was laughable. Holding back a malicious snort I sneered at her, "_You're_ who Kurama couldn't track down? Hn, the fox has become pathetic."

Following my voice she was finally able to find me, everything about her went still, her mind, body, energy and emotion. Slowly her eyes widened and she began to tremble, fear continued to cling to her tightly as a small flame of hysterical glee ignited deep within her. The flame blazed till it was all she could feel, if I had not been using my Jagan, I would not have noticed the cause of her trembling change from dread to mirth. She hadn't fully comprehended what she had found so humorous until it came bellowing out of her.

"Oh my gawd, your head looks like a friggen pinecone! Ha! Pinecone head!"

I felt my eye twitch as my scowl deepened at the ridiculous woman who had just thrown herself onto the ground in a fit of insanity after daring to compare my head to the shape of a pinecone. _Ha! This is the woman they were saying could capture me?! That damned fox and the baby must have lost their minds in these peaceful times. It's not like him to call in help where it is not needed though, and it's not near that ridiculous human holiday which involves spending the day playing pointless tricks on one another. 'Tch I can't believe they made me come all the way back to ningenkai for this fool and her pets._ I thought glancing at the cat yokai whose appearance that had been hidden under a human guise washed away as he groaned and vigorously scrubbed at his forehead. I would have to remember to taunt Kurama latter about his inabilities.

"Didn't I command you to behave kitten?!" The cat had turned to hiss at his master, tail bristled and ears flat.

"Oh dear, Kyouji! No, I did behave please don't pinch me again!" She yelled through a fit of mania. She then kicked the crate toward the cat as she flailed, backing into the alleyway wall, hands clamped around her ears. Kyouji stalked toward her, catching the crate then yanked her into the air by the back of her robe.

"That is not behaving kitten. I will have to teach you many a lesson it seems." He said smirking maliciously into her face before righting the crate and setting her back atop it.

"But I-" Kyouji placed a finger to her lips cutting her off.

"I do not rightly care, if you misbehave again your punishment will make pinching seem like a gentle caress. Do I make myself clear?" He threatened, seeming to enjoy torturing the fool.

"But his head really does look that way!" she complained hurriedly.

My fist clenched around my sword hilt as my eye twitched yet again. _She's worse than the oaf… this is why I live in the Makai._ I leapt towards the girl, with renewed comprehension of why I had desired to destroy the human race all those years ago. Her eyes flitted to me quickly filling with alarm as her subconscious alerted her to my advance.

"I tire of this nonsense." I droned not allowing my annoyance to soil my tone.

"Oh! I am so sorry it was sooooo rude of m-" She tried to spit out, her senses returning. I landed on the crate behind her, unsheathed my sword and sliced her sentence in half by hitting her in the back of the skull with the hilt before she had the time to turn and look for me. She crumpled, I caught and threw her over my shoulder just as the cat registered what had happened. His ears flattened against his head further and his tail flicked in a truer wrath.

"I'm taking the dolt, Koenma said nothing about you so you are none of my concern. I suggest you count yourself lucky and stay out of my way." I finished, sheathing my sword and sprinting to exit the alley.

"I think you should hand her over, she is too much for a pygmy elf like yourself to handle", Kyouji replied in an informative tone.

"'Tch", I jumped avoiding the red string that tried to snake its way around my legs. Landing on a rusty fire escape, I placed the girl against the rail. I was done taking insults today and if the feline wanted to waste all his nine lives tasting my steel then so be it.

Unsheathing my sword I leapt from the fire escape railing and dove at Kyouji in an aerial strike. My sword was halted right as it was about to bite into the flesh of his neck by red yarn pulled into a taught cat's cradle between his hands. Red wove around me, I darted to the left leaving my cloak and an after image behind. They were sliced through cleanly where the wire took hold, _interesting._ I charged at him again while he was still under the impression that his attack hit, an ominous miasma shrouded me. The sound of tearing fabric reached my ears notifying the cat to my new location. I shot back dodging the wire again, stumbling from my thighs restricted movement. _What the hell?_ Looking down I noted that my belts, all four of them had ripped causing my pants to sag and limit my mobility. "Tch". Swiftly I grasped my pants pulling them back into to a comfortable position, resigning myself to fighting while holding them up instead of taking them off.

"Well, doesn't that look unfortunate, maybe I should suggest that you count yourself as unlucky and stay out of my way." The cat jeered mockingly, twisting and throwing my words back at me.

"Don't underestimate me." I replied going for him again, he stood still, smug smile in place. I focused on him searching for the attack he held that made him so arrogant. _He has nothing._ As my sword was about to be buried in his chest a potted plant smashed into my wrist. I had been so intent on him that I had not seen the plant fall from a balcony window, _Dammit._ My hand slipped and veered to the left missing the cat completely, my sword flew from my grasp imbedding itself into a brick wall. I glared at my wrist and sword in betrayal then bounded back once more avoiding the red yarn.

Kyouji laughed maniacally and advanced his attack, finally moving from the spot he had seemed rooted to. I continued to dodge his attacks not making any of my own, remembering the girl's thoughts from earlier on how misfortune clung to those who attacked her companion. Testing the theory, I found it to be true, nothing irregular happened unless I specifically made a move against him with malicious intent. _How annoying, even if I plan on harming him the world starts to turn the odds against me. _I edged closer to my sword as I effortlessly sidestepped the wires, he was too slow to land any hits on me. If it weren't for his pesky ability the fight would be completely one sided.

Deciding the best choice would be to wait for the perfect opening then act on instinct retrieving my sword to create a swift finishing blow. _There._ Dashing to my sword I seized it and pulled, it wouldn't budge. _What the!?_ I jerked hard, the sound of creaking stone and metallic groaning was my only warning before the wall crumbled outwardly. I stared in disbelief at the wall for a split second then leapt back before I could be smothered by the cascading brick, sword in hand. My pants slipped as I landed, I tightened my hold re-securing them. "Tch", I spat glaring at my busted belts, my shattered steal then the rubble.

Red wire arched around me as Kyouji's laughter returned. Reprimanding myself on having taken my eyes of my enemy, I escaped its hold, shallow cuts marring the left side of my torso.

"What do you plan to do now that your precious sword has been broken, beansprout?" Kyouji asked through his amusement.

"Hn' I despise this wretched technique but it seems a fitting death for someone of your level." I sneered, determining I didn't want to hear Koenma's bitching about me destroying parts of the city if I used a stronger ability, then gathered my energy into the hilt of the sword. "Sword of the Darkness Flame!" Black and green flames sprang up from around the hilt, air crackling at the release of the fires that stoked the underworld.

"How impressive," Kyouji hummed rolling his eyes.

"Does a death wish cause you to speak to me that way?" I remarked irritated with his haughty air. Using speed to my advantage I bounded toward him planting the tip of my blade into his chest. "Luck can only bring you so far." I said plunging my sword deeper, my foot slid in small slimy puddle and pain sprouted from my ankle, shifting the angle at which my sword pierced him. The tip ran him through, blood spraying as the sword exited, instantly I knew I had missed his heart, or any vitals, hitting only body cavity. _Hn' Lucky bastard._ His blood boiled down the fiery edge, sizzling and creating puffs of steam as it flowed.

Asheton's POV

_Uhg, dammit that hurts…_ slugged through my spinning thoughts as I tenderly rubbed at the back of my head. _Oh, I think imma be sick!_ My eyes snapped opened as I hurriedly turned to my side to sick up. _Fuck, I think I'm concuss._ Bile rose in my throat and was dispelled, I noticed that my retch took a lot longer to reach the ground than normal. _What the?_ I peered closer at my surroundings, _OH Shite! Why am I up so high?! Where am I, is this a fire escape?! OMG Kyouji where'd you go?! Did you let the midget pinecone take me!? AKkk what if he killed Kyouji?! Noooooo Kyouji, how could you betray me like this, you can't lose to a pinecone! Why didn't you just pretend he was an innocent puppy?! _I mentally sobbed.

"Hn' I hate this disgusting technique" _bla bla bla..Hey wait, that's Pinecone-san!_ As the _totally not attractive _voice registered in my mind I stood to look over the fire escape's railing to see where he was. Below and maybe ten feet to the right I spotted the deep olive toned man, my eyes devouring the eye candy his well-toned chest supplied. M_mmmm, he may be a little short but daaayum he's more swoll than Kyouj, but not even in that gross 'I go to the gym for 16hrs a day and eat 10 protein shakes for breakfast' swoll…Wait where'd his dress go? And why's he holding his pants like that, he gatta piss or something?_ His shadowy garnet eyes were alight with an agitation directed at… _Ohhhhh there ya are Kyouji! _I stopped myself from calling out foolishly to my cat. It look as if he were in the middle of one of those "crucial fights" he had mentioned earlier and pulling his attention away could easily end in cataclysm for the both of us. _Jeeze, I feel like I'm drunk I hope my head clears up soon._

Pinecone-san's energy spiked momentarily as he yelled something about darkness and flames, which I thought to be completely contradictory since flames ate away at darkness. His words paradox or no dictated my mouth to unhinge into a wide O when the hilt of his shattered sword gave birth to a blade of fire. _What in the world, why is it so green!? His sword musta been made with copper or something!_ Knowing that rather than science I would have to look to the supernatural to receive an answer, I continued to worriedly watch the fight.

It felt as if I had been standing too close to the salamander grill at work for the last hour with how the black tipped jade flames radiated heat. _How does he even wield that thing?! You know what, I give you props little dude. You just earned 11,432 Ashteton respect points, I will never try and go up against a beast mode pro like yourself._ I truly feared for Kyouji then, _there's no way he can beat the pinecone from hell!_ The metallic tang of adrenaline filled my mouth as it rocketed through my veins, strong arming my haziness away. My body tensed as I clung to the railing.

"How impressive." Was Kyouji's reply though I could feel through the bond that he was slightly concerned. _Don't antagonize him idiot!_ Pinecone-sama apparently upset with Kyouji's smart ass behavior…as he should be, made some quick witted remark then lunged for him. _Kyouji get outta the way! Oh no, if Pinecone-sama keeps heading in that direction he'll step in my…oh dear, how gross. _Small dark and dangerous slid through my concussion induced vomit just as his sword nipped at Kyouji's chest.

_No, not again! I can't just sit here and continue to let the people I care about sacrifice themselves for me! Why am I so weak, dammit!_ I stared as one does during a horrible crash, frozen in panic. I hurled insults at myself and mentally screamed to make some move but I couldn't even manage to twitch a finger. The adrenaline coursing through my veins only helping to slow down time in my immobile state so that I could see in detail as Kyouji was pierced through. Black tipped green flames impaled his chest, bursting forth from his back. Blood misted the air as it splattered against the brick wall of the alley. My heart stopped as I watched sanguine blossom against Kyouji's paleness, running in streams down him and pooling around his feet where red crawled up the cloth of his white silk slippers.

"KYOUJIIII!" I screamed breaking my paralysis as Pinecone-sama unsheathed his hellfire blade from Kyouji's torso. Kyouji jerked his head in my direction grasping at his chest where blood bubbled with more enthusiasm now that the sword was not blocking its path.

"Run foolish kitten, run." Kyouji choked out, red now painting his full lips. His eyes where wide and his pupils dilated to slits. My body screamed at me to make my escape, it was in my nature. Nonetheless I didn't think I could live with myself if I let a friend take my fall again. Sure Kyouji had been imprisoned for genocide and ever since I let him out of his cell he has been nothing but a complete asshat, yet I couldn't help but empathize with him. There was no doubt in my mind that he held much virtue, though he doesn't let it show. Even when he had done nice things for me he would easily excuse them by shrugging them off as obligations. I could almost hear his soul crying out for the love and affection he had been starved of but he was too afraid to let anyone close, and above all that we were bonded. He had said my bond to him tasted sweet which I now understood. And whether I found his character agreeable or not I had created our bond with the same love I held for Uri, no matter who or what Kyouji was, my bond to him made my emotions sway in his favor biasedly. No, I could not leave him for dead like the others. My guilt would become too heavy a burden to carry and it would brake me; it was time to take my stand and fight for what I thought was right.

"Pinecone-sama! Stop this at once, I won't let you harm my Kyouji!" I screamed at the dark man, preventing him from following through with the next swing of his blade. Tears I had not known where there spilled over the brims of my eyes and danced down my cheeks. Energy and anger at what I had allowed to happen for my sake exploded out from my center. I grabbed hold of the railing and hurdled over it, aiming a kick at Pinecone-sama's surprised face while bellowing, "URI KICK!" _Oh Gods this is a long jump, I totally forgot I was scared of heights! Did Kyouji just groan?! Please don't dodge, please don't dodge!_

"Damn, idiot!" Pinecone-sama spat under his breath, tossing his sword to the ground. As soon as it left his hand the flames dissipated like a candle being blown out. He leapt toward me pushing off the pavement with powerful legs, easily evading my outstretched foot and caught me around my middle, _Gah! I think that hurt worse than if he woulda dodged!_ "'Tch, Koenma would never believe that you threw yourself from a building like a maniac and killed yourself." He rumbled into my ear speaking mostly to himself. As soon as his feet made contact with pavement he dropped me,_ ow!_ My eyes quickly scanned the area for Kyouji, he had fainted falling into his pool of blood.

"You smell like shit". He said none too kindly turning away from me. _Well excuse me! Today hasn't been the best day for hygiene, I mean for Christ's sake I was drenched in flesh and bile, washed with dog shampoo and got sick twice! And none of it was my fault! I couldn't just stop mid escaped and return home for a quick shower! Fuck you pinecone-sama!_

"I apologize for my foul smell then sir, however I do not believe I can allow you to continue to harm my friend," I snipped at him while standing and brushing myself off trying to tower over him. He looked at me blinking large garnet eyes once.

"And who's going to stop me, you? Go ahead and try, I suggest you write your will first." He sneered at me, though I was literally taller than him he somehow managed to make me feel as if I were the one who was being looked down upon. _Though he probably is looking down his nose at me…and it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to write a will if I wanna fight him…do I have paper?_ I patted at Kyouji's jacket doubting he had paper and a writing utensil hidden in it but stopped when I felt Pinecone-sama's sneer metamorphose into a glare with a power level over 9,000.

"Um…instead of fighting might I recommend we play a game? Winner can go free and the loser won't come after the winner ever again," I supplied forcing a polite smile, wanting to run to see if Kyouji was alright but afraid to turn my back on my short foe.

"No." He stated simply, kicking my idea out to play in the middle of the highway where it could meet several deaths via heavy traffic. "You will be coming with me." _Who the fuck does this bastard think he is!? He can't just tell me what to do!_

"I will have to politely rebuff your request-"

"It was a command not a request, woman. Stop hiding behind your pretty words and say what you mean, it's pathetic." He spat then continued, "If you argue further I will remove your little pet's appendages then force you to come anyway…on second thought that sounds like a good idea." He finished walking toward where Kyouji was laying on the ground. I could tell he was still alive thanks to the bond but he was in dire need of healing, _if only Uri were here._

"Please stop right now! Don't hurt him I'll go with you! I'll go with you I promise! But he needs help, let's take him to a hospital first!" I pleaded throwing myself at Pinecone-sama's feet, tears forming in my eyes again.

"Hn," he replied shoving me off of him with a leg. Taking the 'Hn' as a 'I won't tear your friend apart' I scurried over to Kyouji's side.

"It'll be okay", I whispered to him, pulling his head into my lap, brushing blood soaked locks from his peaceful face. _Maybe he wouldn't have killed you, I mean it is hard to take someone who has to fight holding their pants up seriously. You weren't the best guardian but you tried and that's all that mattered, we'll get you help soon._ I was distracted from my thoughts when Pinecone-sama pulled a Pepto-Bismol pink compact mirror from his pocket, opened and looked into it. _Um, okay that's odd…woulda never pegged him as thaaat vain, I mean yeah he totally seems full of himself but a mirror like who-_

"It's a communicator not a mirror, fool! Now be quite!" he bit out glaring at me sharply cutting me off from telling him I hadn't said anything. "Send a portal, I have the girl." _…I did think it though…Oh. My. Gosh. Pinecone-sama can read minds! What should I do?! Now I hafta be polite in my thoughts?! I can't doooo it! It was my only safe haven don't take it from me Pinecone-sama!_ I mentally wailed.

"What, already?! I knew I shoulda called you in sooner! Wooohooo Hiei!" came a tiny excited voice from the 'communicator'. _Woa that mirror just talked!_

Pinecone-sama's eyebrow twitched and he looked as if he were about to have an aneurism before he bellowed, "Shut up the both of you! And you," he growled at the mirror, "just send a damned portal!" He then clamped the mirror closed so hard I thought it might break. He pointed a single glare at me then turned to snatch up his sword hilt and sit against a wall while we waited.

Minutes passed and my head began to throb once more now that my adrenaline ebbed, I wanted nothing more than to just lay down and sleep. Knowing that I had to stay awake in case I did have a concussion I focused my thoughts on fretting over Kyouji. As I ran my fingers through his curls and rubbed behind his soft ears, a whirling rift opened near the end of the alleyway. It gave a feeling similar to that of the shrines, though rather than a tightly sealed door it felt wide opened. The oddity alarmed me, I stared at where the energy originated when the whirling picked up and grew like the eye of a tornado. Within seconds I was staring at what I presumed to be the portal Pinecone-sama had mentioned to his mirror.

I looked to where he had been lounging but he was gone, _what where'd he go?!_

"I'm right beside you, fool." He mocked darkly. I looked up toward the voice, my hand flying up to my mouth as my eyes widened. _Geeze, it's still totally unfair that he's so fast!_

"Eep!" escaped my throat before I could stop myself from giving him anymore self-satisfaction at being a tiny badass. He smirked at my noise then scowled slightly at my 'tiny badass' thought. I was beginning to believe shorty did everything in a mocking or snide way.

"Well, get moving", he spoke abruptly, each syllable clipped. _You got a Napoleon complex or something, brah?! _ _Akkk, who knew a glare could feel like ice and fire all at the same time?! But you know what if you don't like my thoughts then stay the fuck out!_ His hand not occupied by holding his pants in place flew to his sword hilt. _OMGomg I'm totally sorry! Please don't kill me oh powerful Hellfire Weilder-sama! _I pleaded cerebrally kowtowing to the tiny, more dashing Vegeta.

"Hn," was his superior reply, obviously not meant for someone of my low standing to comprehend. _Or maybe I wasn't standing low enough? Akkk, there's that chill again, like someone's plotting my demise!_ I looked around skeptically but gave up when nothing was _too_ out of the norm, I stood trying to pull Kyouji up with me. _Why are you so fat!?_ I couldn't lift him no matter what I did, I even tried a fireman carry but all that accomplished was me collapsing under his weight. _Ewww gross, not again._ I whined now pinned into Kyouji's congealing pool of blood by his extremely fat ass. _Nooooo, I'm trapped!_

"Tch' how pathetic." Came Pinecone-sama's regular tone from above me before Kyouji was hoisted into the air. I bounced up looking at the bandana wearer to see he had one of Kyouji's arms slung around his shoulder and was dragging him to the portal. _Wait! He won't be hurt right?!_ My emotional dilemma earning me a silent death threat from the all mighty Pinecone-sama. I quickly fallowed not wanting to test his patients.

He waited for me to enter the portal first, I hesitated, not too sure if this was a good idea after all. However Pinecone-sama was not willing to take the time to allow me to collect my thoughts, if the swift kick in the rear indicated correctly. I was shoved forward at the unexpected _ass_ault plummeting into the opening. Turbulence picked up all around me as I was heaved forward in a space solely inhabited by light and color. I spun in every direction at once, caught in a violent torrent where gravity seemed to increase and decrease its pull, constantly changing direction according to its own will. It was as if I were on an impossible rollercoaster hurdling through the land of theory on the ten dimensions. Each dimension slipping past to allow another to be perceived only to switch again in no particular order like a bored channel surfer. Just as I worried I would lose control of my stomach for the third time that day I was spat out onto hard tile floor, landing like Bambi when he first discovered the treacheries of ice.

Not a second after, Pinecone-sama leapt through the portal after me landing as gracefully as a gazelle. _Grrrr, it's not fair that he looks so cool doing everything!_ _Did he just roll his eyes at me?!_ Without saying a word he stepped past as I scurried up to my feet, and reached out to the two largest doors I had ever seen in my life. _No stop Pinecone-sama! One does not simply walk into Mordor! _He effortlessly swung the doors opened, their hinges protesting to his rude manner and traipsed in. _…Annnnd he just simply walked in…_ Quickly checking to see if my mouth was still closed, I followed him. _I hope this doesn't become a habit because though you are super powerful Pinecone-sama I don't think I wanna keep tailing you like your puppy. _

Tip –toeing in I regarded the immediate area, _Hmmm if this is Spirit World it's a lot more corporate than I imagined, though who in their right might mind chooses turquoise tiles for the walls with powder blue carpet, I mean seriously. And what's with the pink and gold pillars and desk!? Oh, well hello there. _Sitting regally at the atrocious desk was a gorgeous man. Creamy smooth skin adorned a slim figure with shoulders just broad enough to be considered appealing. Milk Chocolate bangs hung over wide amber eyes that were set in a soft, pointed face. _Wow his skin is even paler than Kurama's! _It's not that I liked pale skin per say but with the right features it was wonderful, and with the dreamy man sitting in front of me it made his eye and hair color pop. Though his fashion sense was a bit questionable, what's with the blue robe and red cape. _Who the fuck actually wears a cape?!_ And the tattoo on his forehead was defiantly a turn off not to mention the pacifier hanging from his mouth. _Maybe he went to too many raves…and what's with the frightened expression?_

A mocking snort came from my left and I tore my eyes from Jr. to look at Pinecone-sama. From what I could tell he was giving me a 'Have you lost your fucking mind, oh wait don't bother I already know the answer' glare. _I swear, he just rolled his eyes at me again!_ A gasp and an "Oh, dear" rang up from around the room along with a raspy "Ashe-chan are you alright?!" and a snarky, "Woah, half pint really did a number on you!" It seems I hadn't taken in as much of my surroundings as I thought when my attention had been diverted to Jr.

"Don't make me lop that precious head of yours off, detective!" Pinecone-sama spat at _Yusuke!? What the hell's Kieko's boyfriend doing here?!_

"Hahahaha! Like you could, besides I'm not the detective anymore." Yusuke replied nonchalantly. I was distracted by a high pitched feminine voice from the scene of a probable brawl.

"Are you okay dear, please tell me he didn't hurt you," asked a pretty woman that resembled cotton candy as she fretted over me, taking my hand into hers. I stared at her shocking appearance, _Akk, why's her hair so blue?! And pink eyes really? Who the fuck are these people?!_

"Yeah if he hurt you just let me know and I'll kick the runt's ass for ya! Real men don't attack women!" Kuwabara proclaimed suddenly at the candied woman's side.

"Calm down you two, it seems Hiei did not harm her. It's not her blood, it belongs to the cat, though Hiei did use a bit too much force, her companion's life is not in danger." Informed, _Akkk Oh no! Kurama! I need to get away! _

"Eeeep!" I exclaimed breaking blue's hold on me and darting behind Kuwabara earning a sigh from the ever so elegant Kurama. The sound of someone impatiently clearing their throat was completely ignored as I searched the room for Kyouji. _Okay, just gotta get Uri outta here, have him heal Kyouji then get away from these insane people! I can't believe Kieko's dating one of them, why Kieko whyyyy do you betray me so?!_ I spotted Kyouji laying on the ground, spoiling the carpet with his blood.

"No! Pinecone-sama, why would you throw him on the ground like that?!" I screeched running to Kyouji's side and pulling his head back into my lap as I hurriedly kneeled down towards him.

"Who's Pincone-sama?" Chimed Yusuke and Kuwabara in unison, my voice being loud enough to have drawn Yusuke and Pinecone-sama's attention to me. Dark energy surged around the slighted man, his hair seemed to spike more drastically as he bristled and his glower deepened.

"I believe she was unfortunately referring to Hiei," Kurama whispered to the others amusement not well hidden when she swallowed a chuckle at the word Hiei. Yusuke and Kuwabara's eyes widened before they both broke down into uncontainable laughter.

"Haha! Pinecone! That's too perfect!," Kuwabara hooted.

"Yeah and what's with the sama, looks like shrimp's gatta admirer!" Quipped Yusuke, as they continued to laugh themselves to heaps. Kurama's eyebrows furrowed and crawled upwards as she placed her hands out in front of her, looking uncomfortably guilty for having stirred the pot. She then continued more seriously in Hiei's direction, "Now, Hiei calm down. I do not think she was trying to-"

"Stop calling me that, woman! My name's Hiei, get it through you thick skull!" He said stomping in my direction taking hold of my wrist and hoisting me into the air, _though not very far._ Appearing more angered than I had yet to see him, his grip on my wrist tightening at my thought.

"Ah! Hiei-sama please forgive me I will not make the mistake again!" I pleaded.

"Hn, see that you do not." He said letting me drop, I carefully avoided landing on Kyouji's face.

"Hey now doncha think that was a bit harsh!" Chided Yusuke. Hiei reacted automatically, fisting his sword hilt once more. _I wonder if that brings him comfort, kinda like hiding under the blankets or something. _When his scowl snapped back to my locale I found myself kowtowing to him before the thought to do so registered in my mind.

"GRRRR! Shut Up all of you!" bellowed through the room coming from the desk. _Oh, I totally forgot about him._

"Yeah, yeah whatever binky breath you've got our attention." Yusuke replied rudely. To which Jr. Ground his teeth.

"Yusukeee," he gritted out,_ hmmm is it just me or does his name get said like that a lot?_ Jr. took a calming breath then pointedly looked at me. "I am Lord Koenma, Prince of Spirit World and I have called you, Asheton Chance, here for the interrogation and trial on your crimes against humanity." He finished standing dramatically cape billowing out behind him. _How does his cape do that?! Wait, did he say I was here to be INTEROGATED?! And by a royal of Spirit World! Ohmigosh, my mother never taught me how to treat a Prince! How am I supposed to talk to him, what if I say the wrong thing?! How do I always end up in these situations, dammit!? _

"Eeek, please forgive me of my insolent conduct Koenma-dono!" I cried out rapidly, redirecting my kowtow to the front of the room. Yusuke sniggered but kept his mouth shut when Prince Keonma shot him a glower. "Now down to business," Koenma huffed.

"Please excuse me your highness, but I am under the impression that you know the whereabouts of my friend Uri. If you would show me the mercy, which only someone as astonishing as yourself could show, release him into my custody and allow Kyouji to be healed, I'll give my oath to speak nothing but the truth." I finished, buttering him up like a grilled cheese sandwich. I risked a peek at the prince from my lowered position as Yusuke, no longer having the will to contain himself, let out a stream of boisterous snorts, and choked syllables. _Is that laughter or is he dying?! _Kuwabara joined in shortly as Koenma fumed, face flushed.

"Bwahaha, Ashe you made him blush ya vixen you! Man if I knew Kieko's friends were this funny I woulda chilled with ya more often!" Yusuke shouted in approval.

"Oh dear," blue gasped, "Lord Koenma please calm down you know how Yusu-"

"Grrr! Yusuke can't you at least be serious for one moment! I am trying to work here not make you new friends!" Koenma snapped.

"Tch' yeah whatever but I think she's innocent sooooo," replied Yusuke snootily.

"That not your call to make! Now Ashton, I may return Uri to you however only after you pass trail." Stated Koenma regal air returning.

I glanced at Yusuke hoping he wouldn't have another outburst and ruin all my hard work at preening the prince's pride. "Yes Koenma-dono I understand. But if I may, what am I being charged with?"

He blinked at me as if in a daze that he were receiving proper respect to one of his hierarchy. "Well that," he replied then pulled a manila folder from his desk and opened it. He scanned the page then listed, "two accounts of prison break, two accounts of aiding and abetting a felon, multiple accounts of resisting arrest, assault of a Spirit World Official, and suspicion of conspiracy and collusion against Spirit World…Oh, and gross animal mutilation."

_Wwwwwwhaaat?! When did I?! okay, okay let's think this over. I did let Kyouji and Uri out so that must be the prison break and aiding and abetting and I did run away from Kurama a couple times and Kuwabara too…I guess I put up a bit of a fight against Hiei and I did tackle Kuwabara. But really I was trying to save him that can't count as assault and Hiei dodged my kick! But conspiracy and collusion, REALLY?! And I wasn't even the one to kill the dogs!_

"Woah Ashe you sure have been busy, you're turning out to be more trouble than Hiei and Kurama when I first met them." Yusuke joked chuckling to himself, Hiei 'Hn'ed', Kurama let out a small guilty titter and Koenma outright ignored them.

"Ashe couldn't have done all that!" Kuwabara worriedly interrupted, Blue putting a slender hand on his arm to calm him down.

"On the contrary she has, now normally we would hold a full trial however-"

Interjecting, I stated, "I would like to see a lawyer!"

"Well you don't get too!" he spat, impatience growing irrepressible.

My eyes bulged, "What why?!" My question was laden with skepticism at Spirit World's judicial system.

"As I was saying," he went on, disregarding my outburst, "We will not be needing to hold a full trial. Hiei's presence makes things much easier, he can use his Jagan Eye to search your memories. Once he does, it will be clear whether or not you're guilty." The prince finished smugly.

"Hey that's right! I forgot shorty could do things like that, you're more useful than I thought," Yusuke jeered at Hiei.

"Haha right? And here I though he was around just to make pretty flames and insults!" Kuwabara chimed in. They both then began to giggle at one another's jokes like high school girls while elbowing at each other's sides. Amusement lit Kurama's eyes netting him a dirty look from Hiei before Hiei's anger blazed at the two jokesters.

"Be quite you fools, and as for you, what makes you think I will simply obey your orders. It doesn't matter to me how long your trial takes." He voiced with self-importance. Koenma spluttered trying to find some reason for Hiei to read my mind. I had to admit, if he did it would be the fairest trial in all of history however… _I don't want the mental peeping-tom to go digging in my brain! There's private info in there! Like that one time when I accidently peed in the water in the public bath house or when I let on old man take the blame for my particularly unpleasant fart! No, he can't do it, I won't let him!_ Hiei glanced in my direction his look saying 'Really now?'. _Akkk he knows! No you can't read my mind! Tell the pretty boy prince you refuse and to get me a lawyer!_ Koenma continued to sputter out reasons as to why he should scour my memories as Hiei made his way toward me. _Nooooo stop Hiei-sama! I won't let you!_

"I'd like to see you try and stop me." He antagonized, smirking. He stopped at my side bending down to my level while pulling his white bandana away from his forehead. I tried to scurry back, Kyouji's head in my lap making escape impossible unless I left him behind. I couldn't help but stop and ogle Hiei's forehead when a slit materialized. The skin peeled back, exposing a large amethyst eye sitting at the Ajna Chakra. _Woah, you're too close. And seriously are all your eyes the color of gems!?_

"Don't be ridiculous." He chided placing his hands at my temples. His eye began to glow an eerie indigo, which I assumed to be the cause of my unexpected brain tickles. _Or maybe it's him digging around in there…Hey try and make less waves, it's starting to itch instead of tickle. _I mentally suggested to Hiei while scratching at my hairline.

_I'll search as I wish, now be quite. _His thoughts reverberated from my mind back to me. _Oh, that was odd. I wonder if that's what it's like to have multiple personality disorder._ I mused. _Wait!? Why is it you get to boss my around in regard to my own brain!? I mean it belongs to me, not you!_ I thought huffily. The itching persisted, _great now I'm being ignored in my own head…way to make a girl feel crazy Hiei-sama. _

His hands pulled back from my temples as the itching ceased. Hiei straightened looking at Koenma, "She's guilty…" Gasps went up from around the room from all but Kurama who just looked resigned.

"Wait wha-"

"Of everything but conspiracy and collusion, she was never working with anyone. Also she had never targeted me, you've wasted my time." He completed his statement all three eyes spitefully glowering at Koenma. The prince of Spirit World shuddered and gulped, hell I shuddered for him afraid to ever be on the receiving end of that expression.

Koenma chuckled nervously and twiddled his thumbs, "guess that report was incorrect then, heheh." Hiei let out an arrogant "Hn'" before retreating off to the back of the room where he could sit in unbothered silence. _Emo much?_ I thought snarkily.

"Well, now… Miss Chance it seems you are in quite the predicament. The charges you are faced with are not small ones, I am sentencing you to 250 years in the maximum security wing of the Spirit World Prison. If you continue to act cordially however, I believe you have a chance at getting out for good behavior after 100 years. As for your accomplices they are sentenced to finish their terms of life." The prince finished while stacking official looking documents on his desk.

My stomach flipped, my head reeled and my heart pounded wildly at my ribcage like an angry orangutan beating at the glass walls of its zoo confinement. _I'm going to be sick, where's a fucking bucket?! _Cold sweat beaded my skin and I frantically looked around for some way out of this mess. _250 YEARS?! He can't do that, I'll be dead way before that happens, I can't just ditch on Kieko, or my landlord. OMG what if my mom finds out, I'll be disowned or MURDERED! She would prolly find some way into Spirit World just so she could kill me with her own hands for the shame I brought on the family! Nooooo mom don't kill me, I'm too young to dieeeeee! _"B-but that can't be. I mean I really didn't mean to be bad! I didn't even know I was breaking any rules! Can't we work something out!?" I stumbled on my words. _What about Uri and Kyouji, they just finally tasted freedom again! I can't just let them get locked back up like this! _

"I am sorry Miss Chance but ignorance of the law does not excuse the law." Koenma stated stoically.

"B-b-but there's gatta be something right?! I mean community service or like house arrest or _something_!" I continued to beg, tossing my manners out the window.

"Hmmm," Koenma phrased dramatically, striking 'The Thinker' pose. "Well I suppose there is one option but I would have to pull some strings… It would require you to undergo a lot of training and hard work however."

"I'll do it, anything just name it." I agreed desperately.

"How would you feel about becoming a Spirit Detective, Asheton Chance?"


	10. Unexpected Visitors

Chapter 10

"How would you feel about becoming a Spirit Detective, Asheton Chance?" Koenma questioned.

"I'd love to sire!" I agreed instantly then hastily added, "As long as I may retain custody of Uri and Kyouji of course." _What the hell's a Spirit Detective? _I mentally grumbled then voiced my question. "Not to be rude Koenma-dono but what exactly does becoming a Spirit Detective entail?"

"I will explain, but first please sign this contract." He handed me a form and pointed at where I was to initial then sign at the bottom. "It states that you are willing becoming a Spirit Detective and that you know of the dangers that exist in the job. Also it informs you that if you quit before your term is up you will finish off your sentence in the Spirit World Prison system. The time you spend working for me will count towards your sentence if this becomes the case." _Wait what dangers, you didn't tell me anything yet!?_ "The contract will hold you accountable for any of your ward's actions as well." _Wait, what?! Okay…I did let them out so it's a little fair. Dear god, am I really gonna sign this thing?! I don't see that I have much of a choice…_

"How long will I be working for you exactly, if you don't mind me asking Koenma-dono?" I asked trying to keep up my polite front.

"Well, since your life span is a bit lengthier than my usual detectives, I'd say one hundred years. Provided you remain cooperative, continue to come in as back up during times of crisis and also agree to train the next Detective." He had finished but my hesitation at signing egged him on. "…Or if you prefer, I could just call up one of my Wardens and have them bring you to your new home."

_100 years?! And then some! I can't do this for a hundred years! This is crazy! But I can't just sit in prison for 250 either! And… be without Uri or Kyouji for the rest of my life, this is insane!_ The pro's to this contract outweighed the con's by a landslide so much so that I was beginning to think this was all set-up, even if it had been there was nothing I could do about it. He was a ruler of this place and I a lowly criminal. I was going to have to play this game by his rules. _If imma hafta choose to either eat my shit sandwich or his shit sandwich I may as well eat my own. At least I know where I've been._ I signed selecting what I thought to be the lesser of two evils. Handing the document back to him I asked, "Now what would you have me do your High_ness_?" Malice slipped passed my guard tinging the end of my sentence. _Oh shite! I hope he didn't catch that part! Kyouji was right, I do have rage issues…my mother is gonna hate me!_ I sobbed internally.

"Well for starters, you are more inexperienced than Yusuke when he became a Spirit Detective. To my knowledge you have taken two years of Krav Maga however this is far from enough. As your first task you will be training day and night under an experienced fighter for six months. After wards, you will be taking oath to a series of codes all wardens must abide by." _I can't train like that! I have a job and school, that'll never work! And what kinda codes?! What the hell did I agree too!?_

"I am sorry to interrupt, but what of my daily life? I have class on Thursday and Kieko needs me at the diner. What am I supposed to tell them, and what of my family? Someone will notice if I'm gone for six months sire." I interrupted, hoping there was some compromise we could reach.

"I have already taken that into consideration. I am allowing you, one month before your training starts so that you may finish your class. After, you will be taking the next two semesters off. I will deal with the paperwork, and have you reenrolled when possible. As for Kieko, though she will not be too pleased with having another Spirit Detective in her life I do not think you will have to worry about her firing you. Yusuke will talk her into allowing you a vacation." He clarified.

"Woohoo Ashe, now we can still pass math!" Kuwabara cried in joy.

"Heeey, wait a sec here. Why do I have to ask Kieko?! You should do it! This was your dumb idea after all, besides I don't wanna get my head bitten off for your sake." Yusuke complained.

Shooting a weak smile to Kuwabara I continued, "Still what of my family? Once a month I must attend a family dinner. I am afraid it would be improper of me to miss it."

Koenma thought for a moment, his eyes slid to Kurama then back to me. A smile broke across his features. "I will permit you to take the time to see your family once a month, I will have Kurama pick you up from the training grounds and drop you back off." _Oh noooooo, please anything but that! Not her, she's evil! _A short sardonic snort sounded from the back of the room where Hiei was perched.

Kurama peeked at the prickly man with mild curiosity before speaking to Koenma. "Yes, I believe I could make that work. I will need at least a week notice in advance however."

"Oh no, I couldn't possible bother you with this Scarle- Ahem, Kurama-san. I am sure your schedule is supremely busy and I would just be a burden, maybe I could find a different means to making my familial appointments." I beamed at her politely. _Stay outta my life biotch!_

"Don't be silly Chance-san, it's no trouble at all. I am glad to help." She said returning my smile, her eyes ablaze with challenge. _Akk, why do I get the feeling she is trying to dominate me?! I won't lose to her!_

"No, please. I'm sure I could take the bus or a train. There is no need to go so far out of your way." I replied. _Hmmm, is it just me or did Yusuke and Kuwabara take a few steps back just now?_

"That won't do, traveling is safer done in pairs than on your own. I hope that you do not take this the wrong way Chance-san, but it seems you have a knack for finding trouble. I couldn't possible let you walk around on your own like that." _OMG bitch, just give up already!_

"Oh, well thank you for being so considerate of my safety. However, now that I have Uri and Kyouji I'm positive they can keep me safe enough." My cheeks were beginning to burn at how widely I was smiling.

"Your right, that theory has worked up to this point at least." She quipped, I knew she had been mocking me though she had given no tangible proof of it. _Oh no she didn't! _

"And I suppose you are much more capable than my wards then. I am glad to have someone as strong and generous as they are gorgeous looking out for me." I said trying not to let my frustration show. _Imma cunt punt you to the flippin moon and back if you say one more thing!_

"Think nothing of it." She finished with arrogance disguised as civility. _That's it you're going down!_ As I mentally prepared myself to leap at the whore, Koenma cleared his throat nervously.

"Yes, well now that that's settled…It's a Spirit Detectives job to maintain the peace and balance over Ningenkai by solving cases involving apparitions. It is your duty to protect the human race, Asheton Chance." Koenma stated effectively distracting me from Kurama. _Woa, say what now?! That's too much pressure, I don't wanna save the world! Can't I just be a regular fry cook instead!? _I stared at the prince, positive my mouth was hanging open. He pressed an intercom button on his desk then spoke into it, "George, please bring in Uri. It seems Chance-san has made the proper choice."

"Right away sir!" Came a happy reply before the intercom shut off. _Omigosh! Uri, I have never been happier in my life! _

"Glad to have you on the team Ashe! My name is Botan, I'm the pilot of the River Styx and I also work for Lord Koenma! It's a pleasure to finally meet you!" Bubbled the peppy cotton candy impressionist.

"Oh, um. Nice to meet you as well." I replied bowing.

"My, you are too sweet! You're going to be so much easier to work with than Yusuke!" She said giggling.

"Hey! I was never hard to work with! I was like the picture perfect Spirit Detective." He snubbed.

"Yeah, maybe the kind that gets photo bombed!" Chortled Kuwabara, to which Botan and Kurama joined in his laughter.

"Not like you were any better!" Yusuke berated.

"What, Kuwabara is much easier to work with, Yusuke so don't even start with him." Botan spoke up for Kuwabara before he could start arguing with the retired detective.

"Oh, yeah and how's that?!"

"Well for starters he-" Botan was cut off by the loud cry of giant doors swinging open. A brawny blue man peeked his head into the room, smiled then walked in. I stared at his mane of blond hair that stopped at the crown of his head where a gaping bald spot sat. A bone white horn protruded from the top of his forehead while a bewildering under bite had his bottom incisors jutting out from his mouth like the tusks of a wild boar. _What the hell is that thing?! It won't eat me will it!? It's huge, he must be like a billion feet tall! And is he really wearing a leopard print lion cloth?! Like what the fuck is going on, did I take drugs or something?! Dammit, Kyouji if you drugged me I'll be sooo…relieved now that I think of it. That would make a lot more sense than what is legitly goin on…_

"I brought Uri just like you asked lord Koenma!" The blue being, that I assumed to be the George Koenma had spoken to, chirped pleasantly. A glimpse of honeydew green locks had me on my feet faster than an offer of a free Bugatti Veyron. **Thunk.** I flinched at the sound of Kyouji's head bouncing off the office floor. _OMG, Kyouji I'm soooo sorry I totally didn't mean to drop you like that!_ Before I could go full-blown mother hen over dropping Kyouji's head to the ground I was stopped by Uri's voice.

"Long time no see Ashe, I was kinda hoping you'd wear somethin nicer for our reuniting but hey, who am I to judge? Oomf-" Uri's snarky speech was cut short from the force at which I had tackled him.

"URI! I missed you soooo much! I found Kyouji just like you said! It was so hard, but I did it! I even hid my sent and everything! I'm so glad you're okay… I was so worried." My cries of joy turning into breathy sobs as I relieved myself of all the overwhelming anxiety Uri's absence had caused me. I hadn't even realized until I saw him alive and whole in front of me how much I had been suppressing with his capture. My tears spilled down his robes. I gripped onto him as if he were a cliff edge that may poof into inexistence at any given moment leaving me to deal with a 10,000 foot freefall. Warm arms snaked around me embracing.

"Hey now, none of that. And watch the blood will ya, we are gonna ruin my robe. Come'on now I ain't gonna go anywhere, promise. We got everything worked out, alright." Uri consoled, and though he protested that his robes may become ruined he didn't let up his hold on me either.

"Awww they're so bitter sweet, I wish we had a close relationship like that Lord Koenma." George blubbered.

"I know right, they're making me feel like we're the bad guys here." Kuwabara agreed tears in his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. We're totally the bad guys, cuz that makes sense. NOT." Yusuke snorted.

"Yusuke, just let them have their moment." Botan scolded misty eyed.

"No, Yusuke does have a point. What has been done was a necessity, we are now all on the same page and things should go much smoother. It has worked out for the best." Kurama supplied logically.

"Yeah, exactly what Kurama said. So it's no time to be going soft George," Koenma said echoing Kurama's opinion. "…N-no matter how moving it is," He finished following George's example by bursting into tears.

"Hey you know we can still hear y'all, right? And what's with the roadkill, wait, is that Kyouji? Oh man, that's great!" Uri probed.

"Oh my gosh, Kyouji! Uri, you have to heal him! He needs your help!" I begged pulling away from Uri. He looked at me eyes saying 'reallllly?' then he turned walking towards the Siamese. Everyone stopped to watch as Uri inspected him, he stood and shoved Kyouji with his foot. Kyouji let out a small grunt but remained unconscious.

"Eh, I don't know what you're talkin 'bout Ashe, he looks just fine to me." Uri said shrugging.

"What!? He does not, he's still bleeding! Please Uri, heal him. And for crying out loud stop kicking him!"

"Meh, I wasn't kicking I was poking with my toe, besides…I think he'll live. No point in waistin our energy over it." _What?! Is this really happening right now?!_

"Uri! He got stabbed trying to help rescue you, the least you could do is save him!"

"Doubt it, he prolly got stabbed cuz he was being arrogant. Plus he will be just fine on his o-"

"Please, they said they would let you heal him if I agreed to their terms. You can't just leave him like that! He tried so hard to help us, he almost died," tears had begun to run down my cheeks again as I argued with Uri. _Why can't I stop crying, maybe I'm pmsing or something. _

"Geeze, enough with the water works. I'll heal him just stop okay." Uri said uncomfortably. I wiped at my eyes as Uri bent down grabbing his creamy yellow sash. "Tch, women." His grey robe fell open exposing his pale leanly muscled chest as he pulled the sash free. He placed the cloth over Kyouji's torso, it began to glow the warm golden color of a spring sunset. Weariness started to seep into me as Kyouji's eyes creaked opened.

Spotting Uri, Kyoji's eyes widened then constricted into a tight glower, "You!" he hissed. Uri jumped back tying his sash around his waist landing next to Botan, who 'Eepped' at his furtive movements.

"Hey now, calm down man." Uri pleaded crouching behind the bubbly woman. Kyouji gracefully climbed to his feet before falling into a predatory stance, ears laid flat and tail bottle brushed.

"This is exactly why we shoulda left him the way he was!" Uri called to me accusingly from behind Botan's shoulder. Botan tried to turn to peek at the rabbit but he held her still so that he continued to be blocked from Kyouji's wrath. She looked ready to scold him for either his close proximity or perhaps because he was using her as a meat shield but when she managed to spot him her bubblegum pink eyes metamorphosed from offended to nurturing. Pursed lips softened into a sympathetic smile for a moment before they compressed again. She turned her head towards Kyouji directing her rekindled scolding to the cat.

"I don't know why you are threatening him but it's not nice to bully others." She reprimanded.

"Ha, do not try and speak in such a tone to me, apparition. Have you never heard the saying 'cat's got your tongue?'" Kyouji derided, obiviously feeling he were much above her. Botan looked baffled at being spoke to in such a manner before she collected herself enough to be outright pissed. "Ah…your expression says you have, good. I assure you that you do not wish me to convey how I feel that phase should be taken. I'd like to think you enjoy your tongue to continue residing in your mouth. Now move aside, you do not desire to be standing there. The rat's not worth dying for, I promise you this." Kyouji straightened grinning roguishly at his handy work of effectively shutting her up, he then looked down at his blood stained clothing. Twitching his nose in irritation he mumbled, "hmph, garbage. This will never come out."

"Hey watch it, you're cuzin for a bruzin buddy!" Yelled Yusuke as Kuwabara quickly joined in.

"Yeah! We would never let you even get close to her!"

Kyouji glanced at them but didn't bother to respond. Instead he reached into his jacket and pulled out Lachesis's Thread. He willed energy into the weapon as Uri's energy spiked in fear. Ringing filled my ears, I stumbled and fell to the floor from sudden vertigo and fatigue. _What..the…_ "Kyouji…st-op this..", I tried but my voice wouldn't go above a whisper. My head nodded like I had spent days awake and was forced to endure one of Yamato-san's lectures. I more felt than saw Uri look at me worriedly. Somewhat aware of Hiei's tension that stated he would put an end to Kyouji if he tried anything had my muddled thoughts turning to anxiety. But more than Hiei Kurama sent fear for Kyouji through me. It was the way she seemed to be coolly calculating the situation like a game of chess that she knew she had won before her opponent even saw her pawn coming. Kyouji would not be able to make an attack in time before he was taken out, or maybe his 'talent' would allow him to kill Uri but he would not be long for this world. I had to do something, it was the only thing I was sure of in that moment but I could not find the energy to do so.

"We have not yet attacked due to our respect of Chance-san's wishes. However if you move a single muscle more with the intent to harm anyone in this room I will not hesitate to eliminate you." Kurama threatened, her voice sounded icy and uncaring, I felt as if I would drown in the sea of confidence she exuded.

"So, not a fake then. It seems my kitten has made some misjudgments about you Yoko, though I do see how she came to her conclusions. You are quite _pretty._" Kyouji mocked, energy level rising. As he did so my vision began to fail. I was only able to make out blurs and the world felt as if it were spinning. _Don't get yourself killed, please, Kyouji._ I begged in my mind. I could feel through the bond that Kyouji was ready to die if he would be able to take Uri out with him.

"Kyouji, we are hurting Ashe! We have to not use so much energy at once, she hasn't had the time to develop enough spirit energy to handle the both of us yet! Just get off your high horse already and chill so we can talk this out!" Uri begged, frantically releasing his hold on any energy he had been clinging to, allowing some strength to make its way back to me.

Kyouji greedily drank up the extra energy and my sight tunneled as he prepared himself to strike. Everyone but George and Botan's energy tensed like the index finger squeezed against a taught cold polymer trigger mid shot. _I can't let this happen! _I drew deeply from my core, my ability to see returning.

"No, Ashe! Never use Life Ener-" I lost the rest of Uri's urgent sentence as white noise plugged my ears. Glaring at Kyouji with all I had from my place kneeling on the ground, my arms staining to hold myself up as I sowed the energy I found hidden within me into a stream I let out in a bellow.

"KYOUJI STOP!" As the booming command left my lips I felt stronger than I ever had. I felt I could take on everyone in the room at once wile hosting an extravagant diner for 243 picky eaters. It all came crashing down not .3 seconds later. My arms gave out, my head plummeted to the carpet, my body tingled numbly, yet I was able to witness Kyouji frozen in an unnatural stillness before darkness enveloped me.

* * *

><p>I laid in a field gazing into the night sky hoping to catch glimpses of stars through the shadowy forecast. The world was quiet, peaceful, haunting. The cloud coverage blocked out moon and starlight, casting the world into inky darkness. I couldn't make out much past my hand but I stayed in the field though I knew it was not the wisest decision. I was powerful and the knives sheathed on my thighs gave me confidence that even if Cain showed his face I would destroy him once and for all. Heavy thuds and metallic clanking made its way to my ears from the edge of the field. <em>Hm, think of the devil and he may appear.<em> I thought to myself as I leapt up into a defensive stance.

"You walk to the executioner's block so willing my old friend. I was expecting to have to track you down this time." I taunted in Cain's direction, skin tingling in anticipation for the thrill of battle. Uncharacteristically, he made no remark. _Something's wrong…_ I held my ground awaiting any trick he may have up his sleeve.

His footfalls softened as his gait shortened and the clatter his heavy plate armor usually created wisped into the hushed rustle of fabric on fabric. Soon all I could hear was light padded footfalls and slight shifting of the waist high grass. If I hadn't been listening for him so closely I would have been fooled into thinking that he was no longer there and only the wildlife shared my company.

"Do not think I will be tricked so easily Cain!" I shouted at the darkness, unnerved by his new tactic.

"It is not my intent to trick you, Chance-san." Whispered a strangely familiar confident voice, warm breath fanning across my cheek. The scent of rain washed wild roses and other worldly spices overwhelmed my sense of smell but was not entirely unpleasant. In fact it was intoxicating. _So close! I didn't even realize…wait, Chance-san? But I'm Zoran! And that most assuredly wasn't Cain, it sounded so familiar though. Who the…?_ I tried jerking away from the stranger but firm warm fingers wrapped around the back of my neck the feeling emanated masculine dominance.

"W-who are yo…" My sentence tailed off as the stranger's fingers glided across my skin following the trail of my spine. I shivered in what I hoped appeared to be disgust but in truth was at the thrilling heat that filled me from the tingles that shadowed his hand. I felt my eyes widen, surprised at my own reaction, then my lids fell to half-mast against my will. Feather light, fingertips from his other hand pressed against my cheek as he pulled me closer by applying pressure to the arch of my back. The hand on my lower back fisted into my shirt, forcing my body to mold against his own. The fingers on my cheek flitted to the nape of my neck where they began to roughly massage the base of my skull. A soft sound escaped my lips as desire reared its head within me, everywhere he touched burning molten with need. It was as if I were in a blacksmith's forge being shaped into whatever tool my wielder wished of me and I was quickly losing any thought of resisting.

_Wasn't I wearing armor? Why would I be wearing cloth in a place like this? No…I can't do this…I hafta stop him._ "What do you think-" I tried weakly but was easily muted when rose petal velveteen lips captured my own. My mind went blank, primal instinct washing away rational thought and my eyes closed betraying me.

Our lips danced together in a frantic Paso Doble, him taking the lead and directing me to his will through shear dominance as the dance was intended to play out. His tongue skimmed across my bottom lip more in warning than in seeking permission. I barely had time to part my lips further before the lithe muscle interloped into my mouth where it greedily met my own. Cool silver light caressed the lids of my eyes, my curiosity peeked and I slowly pulled away to peer into the face of my unconventional attacker. He allowed me to part just enough so that I could see him, only to find myself in utter bewilderment at who I found. I peered into familiar deep emerald eyes framed by unnaturally red hair. _No…_ I proud victorious smirk sat upon his, no, her kiss swollen lips. _Nooooooo!_

"I AM NOT A LESBIAN!" I screamed as I sat up, knocking my green comforter onto the floor. Cold sweat beaded on my forehead and dampened the back of my shirt. A sudden movement against the far wall near the door followed by a hiss grabbed my attention. Kyouji was crouched in a feral stance ready to attack the offender that had awoken him. His fangs were barred and his nose was scrunched into a snarl while his white hair shinned with pink and soft golden highlights as it reflected the sunrise light that filtered in through the glass patio door. Weight to my left shifted and curled around me on the futon as Uri let out a groan.

"No one accused you of being a lesbian Ashe. No need to wake everyone up over it." Uri said groggily, cuddling into my side. "And why'd you steal the blanket?"

I caught the look of disdain on Kyouji's face as Uri spoke before he shifted into a more relaxed position. He sniffed the air and treated me to a lecherous grin, quirking a brow. "Hmm, your fear and exclamation startled me kitten." He said haughtily, lowering himself back onto Mr. Lumpy where he had been asleep. "But come to find out it was only a silly dream, a rather moist one at that. So who was the girl?"

I stared at him in horror. _How does he know!? _

"Dammit! Stop with the kitten shit already! I'm tryin ta sleep here…" Uri complained reaching over me to grab the blanket. He pulled the comforter off the floor and onto his lap but hesitated when the blanket wafted over me. "Wait… Ashe, you totally had a naughty dream! Ha that's hilarious. It was me wasn't it, I knew it. Don't worry Ashe your secrets safe with me. It happens all the time, I mean just look at me! I am simply God's gift to women so I can't fault you for feeling that way. But as your friend I should warn you, I don't feel the same way. I suggest you find a rebound. I know it'll be devastating but time heals all wounds." He said patting me on the shoulder playing at consoling me, cocky smile spread cheek to cheek. My mouth fell open and before I could start scolding them Kyouji interrupted me.

"Ha! How arrogant you are this morning. Though I suppose I shouldn't expect any better from someone of your lowly breeding. If you would just take a moment to use the seemingly abandoned organ between those monstrosities you call ears you would have remembered she mentioned 'lesbian'. Unless you are female, which I highly doubt seeing as you are simply too hideous to pass, then her statement excluded you." _But how did they know!?_

"Hey watch it Tom, when I put on a dress I totally pass a chick! A super hot one at that!" I would have rolled my eyes at the new nickname Uri had given Kyouji after he had started watching old re-runs of Tom and Jerry cartoons, if I hadn't been stunned at Uri's cross-dressing confession and mortifyingly embarrassed about my 'wet dream'. Remembering to shut my mouth I looked at Uri quizzically.

"I'm sure that sounded better in your head…" Kyouji droned, blank faced.

"Wait, why were you wearing a dress?!" I asked not being able to contain my curiosity, "and how did you guys know…about well…"

"I! I-I didn't I mean well… I did but it was for this one mission you see a-and" Uri stuttered face turning seven different shades of red.

"Not interested." Kyouji said halting him, "and as to your question kitten, other than your exclamation and deductive reasoning it's through smell. As you know Yokia have heightened senses and for animal spirits the sense of smell is even more so endowed."

"You… can smell it?!" I gasped appalled at my own bodily functions probably flushing more red than Uri. Who fell over laughing at my embarrassment forgetting all about his poorly worded mistake.

"Oh my gosh Ashe! You're so funny when you get embarrassed! We should totally do this more often!" He said through his fit of laughter as he rolled in the sheets of the futon.

Kyouji gave him another sour look before continuing while smirking at me, "Do not fret, it's not unpleasant. Quite the contrary really." He then leaned back into a more comfortable spot on the bean bag chair. _He did not just go there! And they can smelt it! Omg what about when I'm on my period!? Or if I'm in the bathroom! NOOOO this is horrible! I can't even shit in my own house now and I'll have to carry tic-tac's everywhere!_ I screamed in frustration and threw my pillow as hard as I could at the obnoxious cat. Kyouji easily plucked the pillow from the air then tucked it under his head before turning over to finish cat-napping the morning away.

Uri's laughter doubled when I kick the bed and growled in irritation, which I didn't think was possible seeing as he seemed to be having trouble getting air into his lungs as it was. I crawled over him to get to the bathroom so I could run through my regular morning routine and made sure to knee him in the stomach as I went. He let out a grunt then looked up to me to badger me with how unnecessary my attack on him had been. Upon seeing my expression his giggling unfortunately returned.

"I hope you choke on that laugh!" I snapped then stomped off to the bathroom slamming the door behind me. Letting out a deep sigh, I sagged against the door and scrubbed at my face trying to wipe off the unclean humility. I took three calming breaths then dragged my feet across the clammy tiles to the sink. I peered into the mirror at my bed ridden hair and softly spoke to my reflection. "Only two days left..." I persisted with my morning habits as I let my mind wander.

It had been 28 days since I had fainted in Koenma's office and 25 since I had woken in my apartment. Apparently of all the people Kurama had seen Uri, Kyouji and I home, thankfully Uri carried me and Kurama had help bring in Kyouji. When I first woke up from my energy depleted coma Uri filled me in on what had happened while I was out and why Kyouji hated him so much.

Supposedly, Uri had given Kyouji's location up to a warden before they were captured, and it truly had been Uri's intel that led to Kyouji's imprisonment. However Uri had been hired by Kyouji to help him train, at the time Uri had agreed not knowing Kyouji's goals. They had spent years training together and at one point had been close friends which ended the day Kyouji acted out his planned genocide.

Uri said Kyouji was behaving oddly that morning, he was colder and ruder, as if trying to push the rabbit away. Saying he was ready to face his battle but didn't want to involve Uri; he told him he had completed his contract and was free to go. Uri had left somewhat worried for his friend and insulted but didn't feel like offering up his services for free.

Later that day Uri's guilt bade him go back to check on Kyouji. He had followed his energy signature to the village of a small northern dog tribe. Uri had said this is when the ominous feeling Kyouji had given him earlier in the day peeked. Uri could smell blood and death in the air and when he walked into the village a scene similar to the one I beheld when first meeting the Siamese met him. Only it wasn't just dogs, they were people. Kyouji hadn't spared a soul, women and children littered the streets along with the men. He hadn't discriminated in his killing spree, even the sick and old weren't spared.

As a healer Uri instantly despised the act and regretted ever aiding in the horrible sin he had unknowingly been part of. He knew of a warden running an investigation nearby and went to him. Uri told of what he saw and where he could find Kyouji. The warden had hurried off to examine this new case. Not an hour later the warden returned to make the arrest on Uri as well. The warden told Uri that Kyouji gave him up as his accomplice and Uri would be punished similarly. Through his guilt Uri accepted the warden's verdict not bothering to explain that he had not known until it had been too late.

Uri figures that Kyouji's hatred of him stems from feeling betrayed but Uri had given up the want for revenge feeling that the years in that cell had been enough of a punishment. Truth be told, I felt that Uri still held prejudices against the cat, though they were not unwarranted. Uri said it had been a quick version of the story and not to worry about it too much. He said Kyouji probably had some sort of reason and since neither of us were dogs we would probably be safe.

I was surprised when I first saw Kyouji after awakening, he had still been stuck in the exact stance when I had commanded him to stop. Uri said since I used life energy and with the weight of my command Kyouji was bound until I freed him.

I was more than a little exasperated to find that Uri had been using Kyouji as a hat rack but admittedly it was comical to find the cat stuck in place covered in Uri graffiti, wearing a bra (though I was not pleased it was my bra, mind you.) some coats, hats, stale bread and beer bottles. Uri had even gone as far as to tether a can of cat food, I imagine he had gotten it from Satou, on a string from the ceiling in front of Kyouji's face. I had tried to contain my amusement however because the idea of how irate the Siamese would be once I released him worried me. Uri had begged me to let him stay that way and I wasn't sure I was going to convince Kyouji not to murder the rabbit once I unbound him but I knew it was cruel to leave him like that. No matter what he did, I believed he deserved a second chance. Besides, I could just stop him if he tried anything that insane ever again.

I had convinced Uri to take a walk while I cleaned up the mess he had made of my feline ward. Then I sat and talked with Kyouji a while, once I was sure he heard me out I broke my command. He fell to his knees in his weakened state, I had caught him and he had tried to get away from me. I few cat scratches, crying, pleading and explaining had him calmed down enough to except my comfort.

Kyouji forgave me quicker than I thought he would, he had said something about me being young and only worried for his safety. Though I think he knew he would not have made it out of that room alive if I had not stopped him. I had explained to him that it was imperative that he did not harm Uri, and if he did I would find a way to lock him up once and for all. He didn't exactly like this but accepted it once he saw I could not be persuaded against Uri. Turns out Kyouji enjoys freedom more than revenge.

There was a lot of yelling, bickering and fighting as we got used to each other's living habits and hell, there still was. There had also been a lot of fainting on my part, it seems that I gained a second ward too early for my spirit energy level and apparently it took all my energy to just have them both bonded at the same time. The consequence of which being if Uri or Kyouji exerted a tiny bit of energy even during an argument I fainted, and had the worst hangover in the morning too. I had noticed recently though that they could both use a little more energy before I checked out of reality. Kyouji said that my Energy was growing because I was constantly working it out. But for the most part we were all starting to get along, well, comparatively speaking…I mean I had to buy carpet cleaner to get blood stains out of the furniture and carpet the first week. But since they were minor-ish brawls I let it go. _Whats that saying? No broken bones, no foul?...or was that no blood, no foul? Whatever tomato-tomato._

Since I got back from Spirit World I had returned going to class, I thought Yamato was about to have a heart attack when I first walked in. He had called me over to talk with him after class and I explained that I had missed two weeks from catching the flu. After he was sure I was okay, and still planned on attending my tutoring he agreed to not drop me and to let me make up my missed work. Afterwards I had called up Kuwabara and we had met twice a week to catch up on math…joyyyy. However the more time I spent with Kuwabara the more I loved him, and I was totally starting to become jealous of the Yukina chick he was always going on about. I mean he wasn't the smartest, or the best to look at and sometimes he came off as a little sexist but he was funny, good natured and compassionate. He gave off the whole macho guy vibe while still holding onto the 'I'm sensitive and actually care' thing. _ Really do all the nice guys have to be taken, geeze_!

Yesterday I finished my final, and turned in my time log and notes from mine and Kuwabara's tutoring sessions. The final hadn't been easy and I was positive I fail yet again but last night Yamato had called me to let me know I passed. It wasn't with flying colors or anything but I at least finally defeated remedial math…now just to concur collage algebra.

I had thoroughly depressed myself with my math skills and I heaved a heavy sigh into the steam from the hot shower. Then lathered my hair in shampoo moving onto happier thoughts. I had been pleasantly pleased when Uri gave me a credit card from Koenma, he told me that I would be receiving a weekly allowance from Spirit World now that I was employed by them. Yusuke and Kuwabara had been upset with this 'injustice' however, seemingly they never got any compensation for saving the world. _Pshhh whatever, they are totally just envious of my amazingness!_

Either way I was glad to have it because men eat like pigs. Uri and Kyouji go through enough food to feed a family of ten, I swear. Annnnd to top it all off they stay in amazing shape; when I asked them why they weren't fat yet they said, "Yokia have high metabolisms" or some bullshit like that. _It's soooo unfair! I would kill for that ability whenever I got beer or PMS munchies!_

But because of the black holes I had to go shopping three times a week now, on the plus side, I no longer had rotting food in my fridge. My third shopping trip I had run into Keiko. She had been so shocked at how much I was trying to carry home that she refused to do anything but help me get home. After, she decided that we would go shopping twice a week together. She said something about needing more girl time anyways. It was more fun hanging out with Kieko than I thought it would be, and it was pretty funny hearing some of the shit Yusuke would drive her mad with. Like this one time when she bare ass fell into the toilet in the middle of the night because even after three years of living together he can't keep the lid down. I chuckled at the memory as I rinsed my hair, trying to shake off the mental image of Kieko's expression when her butt met with the frigid toilet water.

Sometimes Kyouji or Uri would come with us and once they both tagged along…we almost got banned from the store. From that day on we decided that we could only handle them one at a time, but Kieko much preferred Uri's company over Kyouji's. I guess I don't blame her, I could see how Kyouji would be hard for someone to get along with. He's always so arrogant about everything, and no matter what you're doing he has this look on his face that screams he could do it better. But with time you could learn to read him better and even enjoy him. Though I know I'm biased from our bond I did wish Kieko liked him more, he needs new friends. Other than me and Satou and her cats that is.

I don't know why I had let it shock me because really it made all the sense in the world but I couldn't stop from gaping when Satou _The Crazy Cat Lady,_ instantly loved Kyouji. And for some reason that completely escapes me he likes her too. Like sometimes he'll up and disappear for a few hours and when I ask him where he's been he'll say he was out playing Bingo with Satou or helping her with some chores. _It's so weird!_ But she really must have some odd affinity for cats, at least it's the only thing Uri and I could think of. It's hilarious too because whenever I go with Kyouji anywhere one of Satou's females cat's, the scrawny grey one to be more specific, will just show up. Mostly on the street or in the park but once in the library while Kuwabara and I were studying and Kyouji had tagged along to 'body guard' me. Once at the convenience store and even on time at work! I had been shocked to see Kyouji in the kitchen of The Yukimura Diner but even more shocked to see the damned cat. _I mean it's a kitchen for crying out loud! You can't have cat's runnin amuck! _

Oh boy, but Joe had found it just grand! He laughed for like a week straight about my friend who brought his cat everywhere. I rolled my eyes and smiled at remembering Joe. He had been so happy to see me when I came back to work that I felt as if I had been mauled by an actual bear when he finally let me out of the grip he had called a hug. A frown touched my lips as I remembered the disappointment on his and Kieko's face when I explained I would be leaving for six months. Though I had been surprised Kieko hadn't had been told by that point. To my knowledge Yusuke was supposed to have told her, oh well, he found out the hard way. From what Kieko said he was in the dog house for two weeks.

The last 28 days had seemed so busy, and I was making ties to people in a way I had never done before. Sure my complex still caused the conversion to be strained sometimes but for the most part everything was going better than it ever had. _Well, since Kira at least. _I slammed the lid to that particular can of worms shut before any of the nasty slimy creatures had a chance to escape. I took in and let out a calming breath as I turned the shower faucet off and stepped out of the shower.

Hell, I'd even said hello to Kurama once two weeks back when I ran into her at Sunflower Café. She had seemed okayyyy…but it hadn't taken very long before our tête-à-tête had turned overly polite with a bitter after taste. I don't know what it was about me and this bitch but it seemed like we couldn't even be on the same block without us getting into some weird civilly appropriate pissing match.

I huffed exasperatedly at the thought of the red headed bimbo. _Hmph, she's just resentful over how much of a better rack I have._ Flashes of her lips on mine and the feel of her hand running along my spine set my face aflame. I instantly pushed the dream to the back of my mind where I hoped it would get lost amongst "Lord of the Rings" and "The Last Unicorn" day dreams I used to fancy.

I swiftly towel dried my hair, wrapped myself in the same towel and left the bathroom to gather clothing for the rest of the day. Normally I worked the pm shift on Saturday nights but I was surprised to see I had it off. _I wonder why Keiko-_ A wolf whistle caught me off guard affectively crashing my train of thought. My head jerked in the direction of the offender where I was met with large dark chocolate brown eyes.

Yusuke Urameshi was standing near my patio door smirking at me like a kid who managed to get away with stealing a cookie from the cookie jar. My eyes widened in dismay as my hand flew to my mouth in shock. The worst of it was Yusuke hadn't been alone. There packed like sardines in my tiny apartment were Yusuke, Kieko, Kuwabara, Botan, Uri, Kyouji, some girl I had never seem before with mint green hair, and…_Kurama._

"Yusuke!" Kieko and Botan yelled at the same time. A loud smack rang through the room as Kieko smacked Yusuke. Kuwabara had turned as red as I must have and quickly covered his face. The odd girl looked apologetic, Kyouji seemed amused, Uri looked guilty and Kurama just looked pointedly away a light blush dusting her cheeks. I stared like a deer caught in headlights as I took in the scene.

Suddenly my lungs remembered how to work as I sharply inhaled a hiss of breath quickly bowed and let out a hurried. "Oh my, please excuse me!" Then vanished into the bathroom once again slamming the door.

"I warned you she would be rather displeased, especially since you let the fox in." Kyouji's too amused for the situation voice sang.

"Aw shit! I can't believe I forgot to tell her!" Groaned Uri a soft slap giving away his literal face palm.

"Wait, why does she dislike Kurama-san, Kazuma?" Came a gentle feminine voice.

_Fuck my life!_


	11. Is that what the fox says?

Chapter 11

I pressed up against my bathroom door like a cat avoiding a bathtub full of water. _Omigosh, omigosh omighosh! How did I not know my apartment was full of people?! Was I seriously that zoned out?! What the fuck!? How do they all even fit in there!?_ I frantically tried to regain my composure. _Okay girl, no use cryin over spilt milk. What's done is done…but seriously how much embarrassment can one person take in a day?!_

"URI!" I hollered, almost seeing him flinch from here. A groan from Uri and the deranged squeak of the futon met my ears. I pulled away from the door to allow the rabbit in when the sound of his socks sliding across the tile grew close. The door creaked open, shortly after, I was greeted by the sight of crisp green and a contrite expression.

"Um…yeah?" He mumbled, his words seeming to walk on eggshells.

"What the hell!?" I hissed in a whisper.

"Well, they came over so I let them in…"

"You don't say, so how do you figure I was comfortable with this? And didn't I already tell you to stop letting flippin random people into my apartment!?" I spat trying to stay calm enough to manage the volume of my complaining.

"Hey that was only twice and besides, these are people you know." He rebuked.

"It was three times!" I shouted stomping a foot. He flinched, squinting his right eye as his ears jerked toward the back of his head. His reaction had me worriedly listening to see if anyone had caught my outburst. Once nothing seemed out of the norm I continued in hushed tones. "Anyway, that's not my point." I sighed, scratching at the hairline of my bangs. "What I need you to do is go out there and get me something to change into, you can do that right?"

"Well I don't see why you just don't go yourself. I mean, you don't give a shit when it's just me and that damn cat, so what's the point? Like, really, now seems a bad time to be having a fit of bashfulness." _Is he serious?! _

"That's completely different! You guys are family, they're strangers!"

"Ouch, way to be harsh. How do you think Kuwabara would feel if he heard you say that?" He asked, words oozing with fake sympathy as he absently picked at a hangnail.

"Uhhhhg, you know what I mean! Why do you always have to be so difficult?! I don't wanna argue right now, I just want to get dressed." What I intended to sound scolding ended up being completely whiney. _Grannnnnd, I hate it when my voice gets all squeaky like that. Can I just go lay down and die now? _Uri's sniggering pulled me from my thoughts.

"Wow Ashe, way to be a drama queen. Okay, maybe I will bring you your clothes…but it's gonna cost ya." A shit eatin' grin slowly made its way across his face.

"Oh…and what would that be?" I asked in a huff.

"Well there's something I've been wantin for a while and you keep being all like 'That's dumb bla bla bla, I'm not spending money on garbage yadda yadda' but this time I have the upper hand. Either you agree orrrr…you can stand in here naked for all eternity." By the time he finished his ultimatum a soft knock was coming from the other side of the door.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting anything but Kyouji-san said you may need these," Keiko said meekly.

I shoved Uri out of my way to open the door wider for Keiko. I beamed at the sight of her holding a neatly folded stack of clothing. "Oh Keiko, you are a life saver! Thank you so much." I took the clothes from her then smiled at Uri in victory, "Looks like you will have to try blackmailing me at a later date, now if you don't mind, leave so I can get changed."

"You got lucky this time." Uri pouted as he slunk out of the bathroom.

I shut the door after him then took in what Kyouji picked out for me. Groaning at the frilly red laced lingerie set he had bought a few weeks before, I slipped them on. _I told him I wouldn't be caught dead wearing these! I mean what the point of wearing underwear that's practically invisible! Uhg and why does lace have to be so itchy…_ I peeked in the mirror and pretended not to be pleased at what the bra was doing to my chest. _Man, this is perkier than the girls have ever looked. No, I'm still pissed at him don't fall to vanity!_ Looking away from the mirror I wiggled into a tight pair of boot cut, dark wash blue jeans and a low cut v-neck tee that matched my undergarments. _Oh, look matching socks too… I swear that cat is soooo ocd when it comes to clothes. Dear lord I have cleavage! _I gaped at my chest in the mirror. Okay, honestly it wasn't that bad…it even looked nice but I didn't know how I felt about the girls peekin outta my shirt trying to say hello to the world.

_Alright it still fits to societies norms, might as well just let it be…not that I have much of a choice…that cat is sooo gonna get it later_. Giving into Kyouji's wardrobe choice I swiftly blow dried my hair and smeared on some eyeliner and mascara then left the bathroom as a properly presentable hostess.

Taking a deep breath for confidence I looked around the room then bowed. "I apologize for my rudeness," I stood and continued. "Thank you all for coming, but if I may…um, why are you here?"

"Don't tell me you forgot? Ashe-chan, you agreed to coming with us today about a month ago. I even switched the schedule around so that we could have a day out." Kieko said disappointment lacing her voice.

"Ohhhh that, haha…yeah silly me…" _is she talking about when I first met Yusuke? I knew I should have found out what I had agreed to! _"sooooo…what are we doing again?" I asked weakly.

Kieko sighed then started, "There is a festival tonight. I thought we should all go but since it's not till later, I figured it would be a good idea to get everyone together and make a day of it. Also then everyone can get to know you better." Kieko finished with a smile. _Grannnnd, I totally wanted to be lazy today too._

"Oh come'on Ashe don't look like that, we'll have so much fun." Yusuke picked at me while rolling his eyes. Kieko shot him a warning glance before turning to smile at me once more. _Wow, her bullshit radar must be at max level…_

"I thought we could do lunch first, there is this wonderful cafe that Kurama has been telling me about for a couple weeks now that I have been dying to check out! Afterwards I thought we could take a short trip to the Museum, they have this new Greek Mythology exhibit, then us girls could all go get ready for the festival!" Kieko was practically shaking with excitement by the time she finished, and dammit I didn't want to be the one to ruin her plans. _This must be how she tricked the guys into going, no one wants to be the one to kick the puppy. _

"Well that sounds like an amazingly atrocious day. You'll have to forgive me but I have made prior engagements to…oh I don't know, what is it you humans say when you're trying to get out of doing something that you don't want to?" Kyouji asked in my direction, face bland. "Oh, that's right. I have to wash my hair." _Okay, so Kyouji would kick the puppy…shoulda seen that one comin. _

"Do you always have to be such an asshole?" Yusuke barked in Kieko's defense.

"No, I prefer to be the whole ass. Who wants to be just a sphincter anyway?" Kyouji corrected arrogantly. I stared at Kyouji giving him the 'if I have to go you have to' look. Kyouji's artic blue eyes caught my steely grey, thus the battle of wills commenced. A minute had passed before my eyes started to water but his ears had started to twitch towards the back of his head. I only hoped that was a sign of him about to cave.

"Are they talking telepathically or something?" Kuwabara asked Yusuke.

"Well, if they are I sure as hell hope Ashe's rippin' him a new one." Yusuke replied scratching the back of his head.

"Nah they're just bein' stubborn." Uri's voice chimed in from where the girls had been standing. "Watch this." Uri whispered to one of them.

One of Kyouji's ears twitched in the rabbit's direction before his tail started to flick back and forth like a striking cobra. _Note to self: Don't get into staring matches with cats, the fuckers never blink._ I heard footsteps making their way to the kitchen, it sounded like Uri from the walker's gait. A cabinet door creaked opened followed by the sound of pots and pans clanking as Uri dug through the cupboards contents. _What is he doing?_

"Aha!" Uri exclaimed. The cupboard door was shut then the sink was turned on. Kyouji's brow twitched downwards, it seemed he had an idea of what Uri was doing but didn't care for it. The water flow cut off, Uri's foot falls fell fast as he sped out of the kitchen.

"Don't worry Ashe I'll save ya from the evil beast!" Uri cried out as he rounded the corner.

"Don't you dare." Warned Kyouji, eyes still focused on mine.

"Oh, I dare." Uri mocked. **Squirt squirt squirt. **Kyouji dodged two oncoming sprays of water, the third hit, his hair was soaked and he looked livid. _Ha! He totally blinked! _"Boom headshot!" Uri cheered. Kyouji let out a low growl.

"Haha, nice aim Uri!" Yusuke hooted throwing a punch into the air above his head.

"Yeah, Yusuke couldn't have done any better with his spirit gun!" Added a pleased Kuwabara.

"I do not think that was the wisest choice in actions." Came Kurama's unsure voice. Her stance stiffened as if she were readying herself to break up a brawl in my cramped apartment. Though, I hate to admit it, she was probably right to worry.

"Oh, I hope he's not too mad…" Mint chocolate-chip ice cream girl whispered into her delicate fingers.

"Hmph, don't worry Yukina, he needed to cool off anyways." Was Kieko's curt response. _Oh, that's Yukina! Awww she's so pretty…dammit, looks like I can't steal Kuwabara away after all. _

Uri let out a snicker, "The pet store guy was totally right! Using a spray bottle is the best way to train a naughty cat!"

"Uri, what the heck do you have a death wish!?" I yelled at Uri before I caught the sight of Kyouji leaping for him. I lunged at Kyouji grabbing him around the middle then let my body go lax trying to slow Kyouji with my dead weight.

"Kyouji, remember you promised not to hurt him!" I pleaded.

"I assure you, he won't feel a thing." Kyouji hissed. He stopped then looked down at me. "A question first, Kitten, do you like rabbit soup?" I felt my eyes widen in horror at Kyouji's words. _I refuse to eat Uri!_ I opened my mouth to try and talk some sense into Kyouji but Uri beat me to it. Though rather than trying to calm him down Uri was doing what he was best at, frustrating the hell out of Kyouji.

"Aww come'on bro, I was only trying to help. You're the one who said you wanted to wash your hair, I just thought you could use a hand." Uri snorted through giggles.

"Is that so? Then I will gladly be taking yours." Kyouji said biting at each syllable. He reached into his shirt for Lachesis's Thread.

"Uri shut up already, your making things worse!" I yelled at my melon green ward. "And Kyouji please put the string down!" Kyouji stopped reaching for his weapon but quickly grabbed it when Uri let out another laugh.

"UHG! Fine, you know what, go ahead and kill each other see if I care! I'm out, good luck feeding yourselves you stupid, pig headed, lunatics!" I stood, kicked Kyouji in the shin, took his ball of yarn while he was in shock and threw it at Uri's head. With no energy attached to the attack the yarn simply bounced off Uri and fell. I was out the front door and slamming it behind me by the time the yarn made it to the ground.

_Omigosh! I had guests! I am such a bad hostess and a rage-monster! I totally just rage-quit my life in front of an audience! This is bad, really bad. They're totally gonna think I'm some kinda monster or something. _Something brushed up against my leg. I jumped back and almost kicked it before I realized it was Sauto's scrawny grey cat. I had taken to calling her Peppy after she started following Kyouji around as if she were Peepy le Pew. Letting out a sigh I bent down to pet her. _Sorry Peppy, I almost kicked you. Sometimes I wish I were a cat, it would be so much easier than all this shit. I envy you. _

The door to my apartment opened behind me, I sighed expecting to have to deal with a pouting Uri or a pissed Kyouji. "I'm not talking to you unless you two make up."

"I was unaware I was fighting with anyone." Kurama's cool voice replied.

Instantly I jumped up and spun to face her, Peppy mewled in complaint. Soft pink lips were inches from my own, I glanced up into deep green eyes that seemed to know all the secrets of the ancient forests. Heat spread across my cheeks as the memory of my dream played across my mind. I jerked back, tripping on Peppy who spat and ran off at being stumbled upon. A firm warm hand stopped my decent, offering support while I righted myself.

"Sorry, I did not mean to startle you. Are you alright?" She said genuinely. _When the fuck did she start being nice to me!? Dammit, why does she have to be so good looking…I AM NOT A LESBIAN!_

I yanked my arm out of her grasp then busied myself with dusting off invisible dirt and shattered bits of pride. "I'm fine," I snipped looking to the side.

"The others should be out shortly, I believe they have mostly calmed Kyouji now that Uri has conceded to apologize."

"Oh…that's good. Uri's really saying sorry first? He never does that…" I shuffled my feet in discomfort.

"Well, he didn't have much of a choice once Botan and Kieko teamed up against him. You'd be surprised what two women can accomplish when they start defending a friend." She said smiling.

"Sorry, but last I checked I didn't think either counted Kyouji as a friend."

"I was speaking of you actually. I don't think any of them have seen you so upset before." She mused, amusement lighting her features.

"Oh, and I am sure you have." _Not even a minute and she is already startin to piss me off! Geeze she's so sure of herself I mean she really needs to check her self-confidence at the door or something. _

"Well, there have been a couple times…" a small smile played at her lips. _Yep she definitely wants to laugh at me, great._

"Okay Ashe! I'm here to apologize 'like a real man', so yeah. I'm sorry I was being a douche monger to Kyouji to the point where the bastard snapped like some kind of serial killer. Also I promise not to spray him again unless he reallllly deserves it and um, sorry if my actions 'stressed you out'… or something like that." Uri said shoving his way outside, pushing Kurama towards me. He had apologized in the same manner a child would after having been caught picking flowers out of the neighbor's flowerbed. I felt my eye spasm as I stared incredulously at the stingy rabbit. _That's it imma kill him!_

"That is not an apology!" Boomed Kieko and Botan's voice from just behind him. Uri flinched, worriedly glancing back at the pair. "Okay, okay. I am sorry for upsetting you Ashe, I will try and keep my cool next time." He said with more honesty, if not a little frightened. I couldn't help but laugh at the scene, it was nice seeing someone put Uri in his place for once. He shot me a look that accused me of being a traitor.

Before I knew it Uri was being pushed out the door by the two girls followed by Yukina, if that's who Kieko had been referring to earlier. I backed up to allow more room, Kurama was getting way to close for comfort again. Then Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kyouji made their way onto the too cramped walkway. _This is too many damned people, how did they even get into my apartment!?_ It took me a second but I noticed that Kyouji and Uri had found time to change. Uri had put on a baggy pair of light blue jeans, a green zip up hoody with a white tee underneath that sported a crossbow and read 'Keep calm and stay behind Daryl' and the beanie I had got for him. Kyouji was looking GQ with his long blond braid and in his black slacks, silk icy blue button up and black loafers.

Now that I took everyone in, they were all dressed rather nicely. Kurama was wearing fitted jeans, and a top similar to Kyouji's but in black. _Why she always dressed like a man, I shall never know._ Kieko was in a creamy yellow sundress, Botan in a fitted sakura blossom pink sweater that hung loose on her shoulders and Jeans. Yusuke and Kuwabara were dressed similarly with their jeans and tee shirt outfit, though Kuwabara was wearing a long white duster. Yukina was wearing a chilly light blue kimono with a dark blue obi. _Oh, this is my first time meeting her and I was totally rude! She is sooo gonna hate me now!_

I went to bow but found there was not enough room to do so, instead I lowered my head to the group. "I am so sorry for having been rude and making a scene in front of everyone. I wish you all did not have to witness that and if there is anything I can do to make it up to you please let me know. Also, Yukina-san, my name is Ashton Chance it is a pleasure to meet you and I look forward to knowing someone Kuwabara-san speaks so highly of." I lifted my head to smile at the small girl. Her eyes widened, reviling large garnet irises._ That reminds me of something…_ I felt my brow arch quizzically against my will as I tried to fit the déjà vu.

She then tried to bow but ran into the same problem I had and decided to lower her head in my direction. "Oh, no the pleasure is all mine. And please do not worry about earlier, I understand how hectic life can be at times. Also I feel it is I who should be thanking you. Kazuma has told me how much of a help you have been to him in passing his math class." She finished, returning to her perfect posture then smiling the most kind hearted and warm smile I had ever received in my life. _Did I die and go to Heaven just now because she must be an angel. I mean my heart just melted a little, she must be even nicer than Keiko and I did not think that was possible! Life is so unfair, they should share some of that niceness, they obviously have wayyyy too much if it just spills off them like that._ Then it clicked, the shape of her eyes, the color, her small features…_was she related to Hiei?...but howwww, maybe she sucked up all the niceness in the family gene pool leaving Hiei with only crusty dry bits of cynicism to cling onto. _

I felt recognition flash across my features, "Hey, where is Hiei-sama any-". Before I could finish my question a hand clamped around my mouth then I was being dragged down the hall and a flight of stair by an anxious Yusuke, followed by a worried Kurama. _What the hell!?_

"Hey let's go, Ashe's riding with us!" Yusuke called out over my head then in hushed tones whispered at me. "I didn't think you'd put that together so quick, damn maybe Koenma was right hiring you as the new Spirit Detective. Here's the deal, yes Yukina and Hiei are related. –"

"Twins to be exact," Kurama added, "Though Yukina does not know and Hiei would prefer to keep it that way."

"That's a bit of an understatement." Yusuke added. _But why?_ Curiosity was killing me and Yusuke wasn't letting go of my mouth, I acted instinctively and licked his hand.

"Akk! Gross! You liked me!" He accused releasing his hold on my mouth to wipe his hand off on his jeans.

"Why?" I ask hurriedly before he decided to silence me again.

Kurama grinned at our exchange then stated matter-o-factly, "He has his reasons, some may not understand but they are good enough to him. It is his decision to make and that's all you need to know." _Oh, wow talk about defensive. Someone has a crush on Pinecone-sama. _A small twinge struck my heart, almost as if it had gas. _That was not jealousy! And if it were it was for short, dark and mysterious! _I reassured myself. _Yeah, once you get past the whole height thing Hiei is totalllllly hot!_ …_literally. _I snickered at my own pun earning myself two odd looks from my captors. We made it to the parking lot where Yusuke freed me, and Kyouji appeared. _Was he following us the whole time!?_

Once everyone was downstairs we split up into two groups for the car ride. The offer for girls to go in one car and boys in the other was made but I had quickly declined saying that I felt more comfortable if at least one of my wards was riding with me. Which was partly true, Kyouji hated car rides more than anything…well besides dogs. _Hmmmm, maybe because the first time we were in a car he had been in a terribly foul mood so I had told him I was taking him to the vet to get nurtured... Nah that can't be it. _ But mostly I didn't want to be stuck riding with Kurama.

Unfortunately the groups were split up with Uri, Botan, Yukina, and Kuwabara in Kuwabara's blue Corolla. And Kyouji, Yusuke, Keioko, Kurama and I in Yusuke's white creeper van. _Geeze, with these cars they should have definitely asked for more money to save the world. Note to self: Don't get so screwed over in life that you have to drive an 'I give free candy to children' van. _My bad luck kept running when Yusuke and Kieko took the front seats leaving me in between a nervous Kyouji and Kurama. Yep, life was just dandy.

Yusuke drove out of the parking lot first, I caught a glimpse of Uri waving at me wearing a shit eatin' grin. It took all of my restraint to not give him the one finger salute.

"So where is this Café again?" Yusuke asked Keiko.

"Oh, I think Kurama said it was quite near to here." She replied.

"It is, just take a left at these lights and drive a mile down. I'll be to your right, it's called the Sunflower Café." Kurama informed. My mood perked at the name, it was my favorite place to eat and it had a great menu. I glanced at Kyouji when I noticed his nerves spiking though the bond. He sat stiff as a board, his fingers twitching. I laced my fingers with his hoping to bring him some comfort. He lightly squeezed my hand then relaxed a little.

"So Kurama, you don't have a car? That must be difficult, you know I could always find someone else to accompany me to my familial meetings once training starts." I hinted. _Yes, maybe my luck is changing for the better!_

"Don't be silly Ashe-chan, my car is only in the shop for a tune up for a few days." She beamed at me, "Besides, I would never go back on my word. It would be quite rude." I flinched at the 'chan'. _When did we start getting all buddy buddy?!_

"Oh, well I appreciate it Kurama-_chan._" I stated as politely as possible. Kurama's smile turned slightly sour before she looked out her window, Kyouji snorted, kieko threw me an odd look and Yusuke looked like he was choking. _Was my tone too rude?! I thought I did well that time too…_ The rest of the short ride was awkwardly quiet other than Yusuke's random coughed chuckles.

Thankfully we made it to the café not two minutes later, everyone got out and made their way into the restaurant. Happy chatter and excitement bubbled from Kieko and Botan setting the mood for the day. _Okay maybe everything will be more chill now._

We walked into the bright yellow foyer decorated with sunflower artwork and were greeted by the young girl who normally took my orders. _Dammit, what was her name again?...Ami? yeah that might be it. _

"Welcome to Sunflower Café, how many in your party? Oh, Chance-san is that you?!" Her expression brightened when she saw me. I put on my most polite smile and brought myself to the head of the party bypassing the others as they spoke amongst themselves.

"Yes it is, how are you doing Ami-san?"

She let out a whimsical laugh, I had always liked the way she laughed. It reminded me of a happy flute. "I'm fine, glad you finally remembered my name though." I felt my face heat in embarrassment at her words.

"Oh, Ashe do you know her?" Keiko spoke up from besides me.

"You could say that, Ashe comes here a bit. We have missed you the last couple weeks, the manager even noted that we were selling less grilled zucchini sandwiches!" Ami said in mock horror shooting me a quick wink.

"What, really Ashe buys that many?" Keiko asked flabbergasted. I stood and stared at the two. _No, I can't buy that many it's not possible, I swear. _

Ami giggled at her reaction, "No, not really, though he did mention not seeing you in a while. You see our manager has a bit of a crush on Chance-san here. He says it's hard to find a woman so polite and well behaved now days. Haha, like the rest of us are just a bunch of rowdy Yankees." She rolled her eyes as she spoke, the chimes above the door tinkled alerting Ami to new customers. "Oops… Hello, Welcome to Sunflower Café, I will be right with you." She called to the new customers, then turned to me. "Are you expecting more or will it be just you eight?" she said through a giddy smile. "Oh, and don't think I didn't notice you came in with that cute guy who totally saved you the other day! I need the details woman, but it can wait till next time." She whispered into my ear as she led us to our table. _What cute guy?! Who saved me?! Why does she know things about my life that I don't?_

"Here we are, well I hope ya'll enjoy your visit. Your server should be right with you." She winked at me once more, "And I hope I'll see you around soon Chance-san, I'll tell the kitchen you're here!" She walked off smiling after receiving 'thank you's' from everyone but Kyouji.

I sat first trying to signal to my wards to sit on either side of me so I wouldn't be stuck next to Kurama again. Kyouji immediately slunk into the chair on my right, looking bored. Uri, however, waited for Botan to sit then squeezed in between her and Keiko. _Traitor…_

"That girl seems to know you, Kitten." Kyouji said, drawing my attention away from getting rid of Kurama.

"Oh, Ami-san? Yeah she's nice, a little straight forward but it works for her."

"I'm sure." He replied blandly while skimming the pages of the menu. He closed it on the table a moment after.

"You already know what you want?" The chair to my left pulled out and down sat, yup you guessed it, Kurama. I groaned. Kyouji smiled at my displeasure. _Sadistic bastard._

"And yes, I happen to know what I enjoy unlike some people." Kyouji's eyes flickered from me to Kurama as he directed a very cat like grin in my direction. _What was that?! He can't know about my dream, can he?! No, he can't, Kyouji's not a mind reader. Just keep your cool girl, and you know what? From this moment on that dream never happened and I'll never think of it again!_ I shook my head to clear it of any lingering ridiculous thoughts then nodded firmly to myself. Kyouji arched a perfectly shaped blond brow at me.

"Ashe-chan, I am curious. Is there anything you would recommend, you do seem to know the place quiet well." Came Kurama's silky voice from my left. I turned to tell her that she came here just as often and she should know what she likes by now but stopped when my eyes fell on her lips. Heat rushed to my face. _Dammit! I said not to think about it anymore! _

"Oh! That's right, what would you recommend Ashe-chan!?" Keiko asked excitedly. A glance around the table showed that I know held the spotlight. _Grand._ I felt the red on my cheeks deepen but now in shyness. _Just fucking great, can't they decided what they want without me?! I don't want all this attention! What if I say something wrong, or offend someone who may or may not have a zucchini allergy?! What do I do?!_

"Um…well I.." Not being able to handle all the eyes that were on me I dropped my head pretending to look over the menu, hoping my hair would curtain the view of my red cheeks. "I normally just get the grilled zucchini sandwich, it's really healthy and has great flavor. Plus they use garlic roasted hummus instead of mayo as the sauce so it has practically no trans fats…" I let my train of thought die before I got into a rant on the pros and cons of eating nutrient dense foods, vitamins and minerals. A quick glance up reveled a scrunch nosed Yusuke but upon closer inspection he and Kuwabara were the only ones who appeared to have something against vegetables.

"That sounds really good! I love hummus!" Botan chimed in.

"I didn't know that, I will have to make you some next time you come up to the temple to visit Genkai and I." Yukina replied her perfect smile shining magnanimity all over the table. _It's soooo not fair that they are so natural at being kind! _

"That would be wonderful Yukina! We should all make a trip up to the temple soon! How has Genkai been doing anyways?" Botan chirped.

"Ha, why even ask. Grandma's too stubborn to be anything but as peachy as a prickly pear." Yusuke snorted earning him scolding looks from Botan and Keiko.

"I visited her just the other day and she was doing well, though I do agree with Botan. It would be nice to stop by and visit. Plus I believe Ashe-chan will be there as well, with her training and all." Kurama said to Botan ignoring Yusuke's rude comment.

"Woah Ashe you're training with Genkai!" Exclaimed Kuwabara.

"Hah, the old crone's gonna eat you for breakfast!" Added an excited Yusuke. "Oh man, I remember when I first started training with her it was hell! I only almost died like six times but with the level you're at right now you'll prolly only be murdered like 15 times at most. No worries though, she can bring ya back just to do it again," he continued with snarky grin.

"Yusuke! Don't scare her, you know Genkai's not that bad!" Berated Kieko. _Omg who's training me she sounds as bad as my mother?! I don't want to die or be brought back just to die again!_ I worriedly looked around the table for confirmation on this Genkai's character assessment.

"Well I don't know, Yusuke did have a bit of trouble with Genkai's training but I don't think Ashe has to worry about that." Botan put in hesitantly.

"No way, Ashe don't listen to them! Prepare to be completely destroyed and rebuilt. No point in trying to make it seem easier than it's gonna be." Yusuke said through dark laughter. "I mean Genkai may be old but she is more dangerous than anyone at this table, well besides me of course. She enjoys watching her students suffer, also watch out for her-" Yusuke's sentence was cut short by Kurama. My eyes that had been watching Yusuke like he was Freddy Krueger turned to the calm redhead.

"Now Yusuke, frightening Ashe will not help anything. Also I never mentioned who would be training-"

"Hello and welcome to Sunflower Café, I'm Mika and I'll be your server this afternoon! Can I start you all out with something to drink?" Bubbled a young brunette. I almost wanted to crawl on hand in knee to the server to thank her like some poor beggar girl, I contained myself however because it would have been just a tad odd. She took our drink orders and since everyone was ready we gave her our meal orders as well. The girls all ordered my regular heck even Uri said he would try it because it seemed so popular. Yusuke on the other hand didn't want something that sounded so "girly" and ended up getting an American style cheeseburger, Kuwabara followed his lead. Kyouji to Uri's pleasure ordered a glass of lukewarm milk and seared ahi tuna.

After Uri thoroughly annoyed Kyouji about his meal choice and I had calmed them down before we got kicked out of my favorite café the conversation at the table flowed smoothly. We ate as we chatted about light subjects, no one mentioned my upcoming doom so I chose to put my questions about Genkai and her evil ways on the backburner of my thoughts.

After we finished, Kurama decided she wanted to rub in everyone's faces how rich she was by paying for everything. Tip included. Apparently she owns a well to do flower shop, who woulda guessed? Nope not me, not like she smells like a walking flora boutique or anything. _She's such a bitch, I can't believe the hag wouldn't even let me pay for my wards and I! Does she think I'm that broke…well she did see my apartment…but still, how rude!_ _Annnd she gets to come out lookin all genuine and caring, as if. She totally has her own agenda, it's written all over her smug face! Though…she is really good at acting, I mean if I didn't know any better I would have thought she was as kind as Keiko…No don't be fooled, that bitch be evil! _

We had all piled into our perspective vehicles then made our way to the museum. The drive to the museum took a little longer than the drive to Sunflower Café but it went better than I expected. Though there was this one awkward moment when Kyouji commented on Kurama being "a purrfect feminine specimen of beauty and elegance" after I "accidently" tripped her. It hadn't been my fault really because she should not have been following me that closely and I only stopped to look at this really cool beetle on the ground. The beetle was bad ass looking though, it was a lime green and when the sun hit it, it shined gold. But after Kyouji made the sarcastic to the extreme compliment, I thought Kurama and Kyouji were gonna fight right there. The look Kurama gave Kyouji rivaled any I had received from Pinecone-sama, and I thought he was the world champion of glares.

When we had gotten to the museum we found out that Kuwabara and I didn't have to pay for our tickets because we were college students. Score! Plus I was able to talk Kurama into letting me pay for Uri and Kyouji, double score! We migrated toward the Greek Mythology exhibit and truth be told I was a little excited to see it. I always loved Greek mythology and all the legends that surrounded it, it was one of the reasons I was studying to get my major in Philosophy. The excitement I felt quickly dwindled with every stop Yusuke and Kuwabara took to look at something and make up stories for it. Sure they were kinda rude saying things like "Dude this guy totally got his face rearranged by a blender" or "It was prolly cuz he pissed off his wife." Then they would laugh like children, though a lot of what they said was crass I really had no problem with it. Some of it was even funny, though watching Kieko get irked was more amusing then the boys themselves but Kurama just had to stop and correct them then spout off random facts about the artworks like he was reading off the information pamphlet.

By the third time Kurama corrected Yusuke we had made it to the Greek Mythology exhibit and Yusuke was picking on a statue of medusa.

"Though your theory is amusing Yusuke, Medusa could actually turn any man into stone by simply looking them in the eye. It was-" That's it I couldn't take anymore lectures, even Yusuke looked like he was about ready to tell Kurama to chill. The rest kind of looked interested in the history though…no I wouldn't let this one slide. I quickly glanced at Uri, he met my gaze once he felt my interest pinpoint onto him. A gave him a single nod then smiled mischievously. His eyes widened fractionally as his smile began to mirror my own, he nodded back. _It's on!_

Scooting closer to Kurama I politely asked near her ear, "What does the fox say?"

She stopped mid-sentence to stare at me quizzically, she opened her mouth to reply but Uri's loud voice boomed through the corridor interrupting her.

"Ring-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding! Gering-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding!" Uri sang out, perfectly executing the dance moves to the song. I couldn't help it, her face was so priceless. I laughed like no tomorrow, holding my ribs so they didn't split apart. Uri was quick to join me.

She stared at Uri like he had completely lost his mind and was worried he needed mental help. The rest of the group, and well, the entire corridor of museum goers joined Kurama in staring at the rabbit and I before Yusuke and Kuwabara broke out into full bellied laughter. Even Kieko and Botan joined in, poor Yukina looked terribly confused but Kyouji seemed to be having trouble containing himself enough to only let out a haughty chuckle.

It seemed that cats and foxes didn't get along…maybe Kyouji thought foxes belonged somewhere close to the K9 family. But in reality they were more closely related to raccoons and weasels, or maybe Kyouji just didn't like Kurama much…

Kurama's lips pursed as a sour expression started to settle onto her features.

"That was great!" Yusuke coughed out in between spurts of snorts.

"Oh dear, Kurama I'm so sorry for laughing but it really was funny." Kieko apologized after she got her laughing under control.

"Think nothing of it." She replied curtly, trying to play it off like nothing had bothered her. _Damn, how hard is it to ruffle her feathers? Oh well, at least she stopped being a walking history book. Ashe: 1 Kurama: 0!_ "Shall we continue?" She asked, effectively diverting attention away from herself. She walked ahead pointing a look in my direction that I couldn't decipher. _What was that?! She want payback or something, omg please don't tell me I have to watch my back now!_

I followed the group towards the back putting as much space as politely possible between the fox and I. _Aren't foxes like tricksters or something?! Maybe I shouldn't have pulled a prank on her, maybe she is the best at pranking ever and I have totally just screwed myself over?! Akkkkk what do I doooo?! Okay girl, just don't fall for anything._

"What worries you kitten?" Kyouji inquired from my side.

"Nothing…" I responded not wanting to admit my fear of Kurama.

"Hmm, you know lying does not become you. If you worry that the fox will retaliate, don't." _Oh, wow Kyouji was trying to cheer me up. I forgot how sweet he could be sometimes. _"She surly will, you just have to be ready for it. Also keep in mind that foxes have long memories. In fact there was this fox I once knew, she held a grudge on me for 343 years before she got me back." _Scratch that, Kyouji's evil! _

"What?! 300 years?! I'm can't keep a look out for 300 years! The stress of that alone would kill me way before then!" I yell-whispered at Kyouji.

"Well, it does seem you hurts it's pride… she will probably have the upper hand soon enough. But at least you won't have to worry about all that stress building up for too long." He finished, flashing a roguish grin at me. _I'm dooooooomed!_

Kyouji let me quietly stew in my anxiety while we tailed the group. _Okay, she will probably try and be all sneaky like with her revenge. So I just gatta stay on my toes and I'll be alright…hopefully. _I felt myself turn but didn't pay any attention to where I was headed when a slight pulling feeling lead me to the left. _I should have a counter attack planned for when she makes her move! Yes! That's exactly what imma do, now just to decide what… and well there are different counters to different moves. So if she is all passive aggressive about it I could totally just- Hmmm, something feels off. _

The pull had grown strong enough to tug me from my thoughts, I peered around taking in my surroundings. I found myself to be alone, or mostly so. A large statue of a nude woman shared the space with me. She was sculpted sitting "criss-cross applesauce" style, her hands were held out away from her on either side of her body in a relaxed meditative position. Her index and thumb were pinched together at their fingertips forming a small "o" shape. The crown of her head was tilted skyward, or ceiling bound since we were technically in a building, causing her neck to extend elegantly. Two braided buns sat at the base of her skull on either side of her neck. I needed to be closer. She needed help, she seemed so lonely. Golden light flitted through my mind tinged with what felt like a greeting and pleading.

_She's a Youkia! This must be a cell, she feels so sad though…should I let her out? What if she was imprisoned for something horrible, maybe she's evil? Or what if it was a misunderstanding, she could be mostly innocent like Uri…_ I stepped closer, examining her features. The way her energy sang out to my own had my spirit energy tingling across my skin as it anxiously awaited me to make the bond. _Could I handle three wards? I just got used to Uri and Kyouji being active at the same time, would I start blacking out again if I set her free? What if I black out for three days again?! I have to train, and from what Yusuke said of Genkai I don't think she would take 'blacking out' as a good excuse to be absent. _

_But she needs me.  
>…I know she does.<em>


End file.
